Campus Connections

Issue Date: April 24, 2006

News and Notices

Charles Johnson addresses College of Arts and Sciences commencement

Novelist, short story writer, essayist, and cartoonist Charles Johnson, whose book "Middle Passage" earned the 1990 National Book Award, will address the College's 134th commencement on Sunday, May 7 at 10 a.m.

Approximately 440 students will have completed their bachelor of arts degrees during the 2005-06 academic year.

Johnson is the S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Professorship for Excellence in English at the University of Washington, where he teaches fiction writing. His numerous honors include an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, Pacific Northwest Writers Association's Achievement Award, a Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Award, and a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the Corporate Council for the Arts. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, and served as the first Visiting Distinguished Minority Professor at the University of Delaware. Since the 1970s, Johnson’s work as a cartoonist has yielded more than 1,000 drawings carried in national publications. He has written more than 20 screenplays and has published more than 50 reviews in national publications including The New York Times and Washington Post. Johnson earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Illinois University and his doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The law school commencement speaker on May 27 is Latvian Judge Anita Usacka, a member of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The graduate school commencement speaker on June 4 is William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.

Olsen selected as teacher of the year

Undergraduate students at Lewis & Clark chose Thomas Olsen, associate professor of physics, as teacher of the year. The selection was announced Wednesday, April 19, during a ceremony on campus. The top teacher is named each year by the Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Society of Fellows.

Student and alumni letters submitted to nominate Olsen praised his approachable and engaging teaching style. "He is brilliant without being pretentious, and always tries to teach students rather than dazzle them," wrote physics student Tim Kelly. "Almost all students call him by the affectionate nickname 'Tolsen.'"

Olsen joined the physics faculty at Lewis & Clark in 1982 after serving as a lecturer, teaching assistant and research assistant at the University of Southern California.

The other finalists were Nora Beck, professor and chair of music, Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell, assistant professor of psychology, Rob Kugler, Paul S. Wright Professor of Christian Studies and chair of religious studies, and Liz Safran, assistant professor of geological science.

Graduate school honors distinguished alumni

Former Portland Mayor Vera Katz gives the keynote address when the graduate school honors five of its distinguished alumni. The five, selected from each of the school's programs, are being honored for service to children and to the community. The event is titled "Records of Distinction" and takes place on Thursday, May 4, begins 5:30 p.m. at the Governor Hotel (611 S.W. 10th Ave.). For more information, contact Sara Mattheisen at ext. 6001.

Law school launches new podcast website

Tap into law resources via the Web. Audio from selected law school lectures, symposia speakers, and events is now available at the school's new podcast website.

Podcasts are simply online audio files that are easily downloaded to a computer or to a portable device such as an iPod or other digital media player. Access options include listening at a computer or downloading audio to a media player. The website offers a built-in player that provides one-click access to all available files.

Currently available audio includes:

• "Reforming the Health Care System," a talk by Dr. John Kitzhaber to the Lewis & Clark Law School Democrats. April 13, 2006.
• "Legal Research Strategies: What You Need to Know to Succeed in Your Summer Clerking Job," a presentation by Laurie Dailey and Tami Gierloff for the law school’s Career Services office. April 6, 2006.
• "Open Access Publishing and the Future of Legal Scholarship," presentations by keynote speakers to symposium attendees. March 10, 2006.

Observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

The law school's National Crime Victim Law Institute is hosting several events during National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 23-29. The national observation is titled "Victims' Rights: Strength in Unity." Included among local activities:

Wednesday, April 26, noon
McCarty Complex, Classroom 4
Film: "Rape Is." The film screening is cosponsored by the law school’s Women's Law Caucus.

Three free concerts

The music department presents a series of free performances to wrap up the academic year:

Thursday, April 27, 8 p.m.
Evans Music Building, Auditorium
Electronic Music Concert: The performance features electronic and film music.

Friday, April 28, 8 p.m.
Evans Music Building, Auditorium
Piano Recital: A senior recital presented by Nick Strychacz, an international affairs major. Strychacz has studied privately with Orla McDonagh, instructor in music, for four years at Lewis & Clark.

Saturday, April 29, 8 p.m.
Evans Music Building, Auditorium
Piano Recital: A senior recital by Shawn Pankratz, an international affairs major, who has studied with Orla McDonagh, instructor in music.

For more information, call ext. 7461.

Enhanced website: Board of Trustees

Lewis & Clark's Board of Trustees is responsible for the ongoing success of the College. The board is empowered to appoint the institution's president and make major financial and planning decisions. A complete list of trustees, along with new biographical profiles and photographs, is now available online.

Enhanced website: Office of Campus Safety

Lewis & Clark's Campus Safety office serves the campus community by protecting life and property, preventing crime, enforcing laws, and maintaining general order. Learn more about the office's work and mission, along with other safety information, at its recently enhanced website.

Every building tells a story: Pamplin Sports Center

Pamplin Sports Center was designed by Stanton, Boles, McGuire, and Church and opened in 1969. The building is named in recognition of the Pamplin family’s service and leadership at Lewis & Clark. Robert B. Pamplin Sr. joined the Board of Trustees in 1956 and was twice elected chair before becoming a life trustee. Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. earned degrees from Lewis & Clark in 1964, 1965, and 1966. Now a life trustee, he chaired the Board of Trustees from 1991 to 1996.

The Pioneer sports facilities include six tennis courts—three outdoor courts and three covered by an airdome for year-round play. The expansive facility includes a main gymnasium that can seat 2,300 people and has three full basketball courts, as well as a fully equipped weight room, aerobics room, locker rooms, a theatre-style classroom, training room, and offices.

Planning Task Force: Final report available in late April

Since October 2005, the Planning Task Force has engaged Lewis & Clark's community in dialogue to identify creative ways to achieve and maintain the highest quality in the College's programs and community life, and to identify how resources such as time, energy and money can best be used to promote excellence at Lewis & Clark to benefit each of the schools and the College as a whole.

"We have viewed our work as the beginning of a process," says Paulette Bierzychudek, William Swindells Sr. Professor of Natural Sciences and chair of the Task Force. "Our recommendations provide a framework for the work that needs to be done to help Lewis & Clark move forward."

At the end of April, the Task Force will make its report available to the campus community. President Hochstettler will present the report to the Board of Trustees at its meeting next month. The report will be available on the Task Force website.

Historical snapshot

In 2004, Thomas J. Hochstettler becomes Lewis & Clark’s 23rd president. View more College milestones online.

People News

New faces on campus

Several new faces have joined the Lewis & Clark community recently including Nick Gravish, technician, biology department; Jason Barbee, lab coordinator, biology department; Deborah Brayton, dispatcher, Campus Safety; Margaret Thomson, administrative specialist, president’s office; Barbara Zappas, assistant dean of development and external relations, law school; Tobias Townsend, departmental coordinator, Institutional Advancement; Brian Straus, field technician, Information Technology; Flavia Arsenault, administrative secretary, alumni and parent programs, Institutional Advancement; Brian Cutler, field technician, computing services, law school; and Elizabeth Reichhoff, administrative coordinator, dean of law faculty, law school.

Published, presented, honors, and achievements

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

In April, Maria Timmons Flores, assistant professor of education, presented "Preparing Preservice Teachers for Linguistic Diversity: From Case Study to Collaborative Research Agenda" at the American Education Research Association symposium in San Francisco.

Juan Carlos Toledano, assistant professor of Hispanic studies, published an article in the November issue of Science Fiction Studies, 32 (3), 442-466. The article is titled "From Socialist Realism to Anarchist Capitalism: Cuban Cyberpunk."

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:

KINK Radio: Report about U.S. News & World Report's annual list of the nation's best graduate schools lists Lewis & Clark Law School as No. 1 in the specialty area of environmental law. April 3, 2006.

Men's Journal (New York, N.Y.): Lewis & Clark College is mentioned as an institution that feeds "young minds into a burgeoning economy" in Portland. The article is titled "50 Best Places to Live." April 2006.

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

Students gather to give readings

More than a dozen Lewis & Clark students will take part in the final poetry reading for the Literary Review Series. The event on Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m. features students whose works are published in the 2005-06 Literary Review. The selections range in topic from barns to insanity. The reading is free and open to the public.

The Lewis & Clark Literary Review is an annual student-published literary journal with a distribution of 1,000. The reading will be in Frank Manor House, Armstrong Lounge. For more information, call ext. 7414.

Upcoming

Visit the campus Web calendar for events coming up in April and May.