Campus Connections

Issue Date: December 4, 2006

News and Notices

All-college forum on racism

To affirm Lewis & Clark College’s commitment to creating an environment in which diversity is respected, valued, and celebrated, President Hochstettler has scheduled an all-college forum on racism.

“The results of our coming together will, I hope, be a greater awareness of the concrete steps that we as a College can take to ensure that our fundamental values and the respect that we have for each other as human beings are safeguarded in the future,” says Hochstettler. “All members of the community are invited to voice their perspectives and to engage in an in-depth exchange of views on how to eradicate hatred and intolerance in whatever guise they may appear and how to do so in ways that are redemptive and not destructive.”

The open forum, a response to an incident on campus involving overt racist behavior on the part of an employee, will be held on Wednesday, December 6, at 4:15 p.m., in the Council Chamber. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to discuss the broad issues raised by this incident, to seek the lessons to be learned from this episode, and to find ways for moving forward.

Two faculty members named Oregon Book Award Winners

Two Lewis & Clark faculty members have won the 2006 Oregon Book Award, an award presented by Oregon Literary Arts on Friday.

Justin Tussing, visiting assistant professor of English, received the Ken Kesey Award for the Novel for his novel titled “The Best People in the World” (HarperCollins, 2006). Andrew Bernstein, associate professor of history, received the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction for his book titled “Modern Passings: Death Rites, Politics, and Social Change in Imperial Japan” (University of Hawaii Press, 2006).

Vern Rutsala, professor emeritus of English, had been nominated to receive the Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry for “How We Spent Our Time” (University of Akron Press, 2006).

Since 1987, the Oregon Book Awards have been presented annually for the finest accomplishments by Oregon writers in genres of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama and young readers literature. Out-of-state judges choose finalists in each category, including a winner, using literary merit as the sole criterion. All finalists are promoted in libraries and bookstores across the state, and invited to take part in the Oregon Book Awards Author Tour. The Oregon Book Awards is a program of Literary Arts, a statewide, nonprofit organization.

National Crime Victim Law Institute announces creation of three new legal clinics to provide direct representation to victims of federal crime

Thanks to a federal grant, the law school’s National Crime Victim Law Institute has created three new legal clinics to provide pro bono legal services to victims of crime in the federal criminal courts. The announcement was made on Friday, December 1, by Meg Garvin, the institute’s acting executive director.

“The Crime Victims Rights Act affords victims of federal offenses real, enforceable rights and with the new funds those victims will have attorneys to help them assert their rights in trial and appellate courts,” said Garvin. “This marks a tremendous change in the criminal justice system, a shift away from victim as mere interloper in the case, toward victim as a critical participant in the case.” According to Garvin, the purpose of the pro bono clinics is to ensure that crime victims’ rights are enforced in federal courts and to educate the public and legal profession about the rights.

In 2004, Congress passed the Crime Victims Rights Act, which affords victims of federal offenses eight specific rights, including the rights to notice of and to be heard and present at certain proceedings. The act also authorized funds for pro bono legal clinics to directly represent victims of federal offenses. Two-million dollars of the authorized funding has now been appropriated and is being administered through a grant to the National Crime Victim Law Institute from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Office was established by the 1984 Victims of Crime Act to oversee diverse programs that benefit victims of crime.

Established in 2000, the National Crime Victim Law Institute is a nonprofit research and educational organization committed to the enforcement and protection of victims’ rights in the criminal justice system. It is the only organization of its kind in the United States. In addition to funding pro bono legal clinics, the institute assists attorneys who provide direct legal services, advocates for victims through the filing of amicus curiae briefs in criminal cases nationwide, conducts research, and provides information, training and referrals on issues concerning victims’ legal rights.

More information about the institute is available online.

College receives UPS grant for Student Employee of the Year program

Lewis & Clark has been awarded one of five $500 grants by United Parcel Service through the National Student Employment Association. The grant is given to help colleges and universities across the nation establish a Student Employee of the Year program.

The Office of Student Financial Services will launch the first annual Lewis & Clark Student Employee of the Year program in January 2007, with online nominations running all through February. The winner will be determined in March and announced at an event in April 2007 for National Student Employee of the Year week. The winner will then be entered into the regional program sponsored by the Western Association of Student Employment Administrators, whose winner will then be entered into the national competition.

The Lewis & Clark motto for student employment on campus is to “turn young Pioneers into young professionals.” The UPS grant supports the College’s mission to advance each student employee’s knowledge of professional behavior, skill sets, and the individual strengths that will allow the student to make positive contributions to society in his or her post-Lewis & Clark career.

For more information, call ext. 7090.

College bowl game and “Teaser” game

The College of Arts and Sciences Activity Congress seeks faculty and staff volunteers for “Teaser” Bowl game on Wednesday, December 6, and the annual College Bowl game in January.

College Bowl is similar to team Jeopardy in which colleges around the country compete. The “Teaser” game will be a mock College Bowl game with faculty and staff teaming up against a group of students.

For more information, email the Activities Congress events commission at congress@lclark.edu.

Face to face: physics colloquium, speaking of diversity, bookwarming, brainstorming for the 2007 Environmental Symposium, and the President’s holiday party for faculty and staff

Monday, December 4, 4 p.m.
Olin 204
Physics Colloquium: advanced physics lab students will discuss the projects they have been working on this semester.

Monday, December 4, 6 p.m.
Forest Residence Hall, Tamarack Lounge
Speaking of Diversity: the Lewis & Clark community is invited to an open discussion about diversity on campus.

Tuesday, December 5, 3:45 p.m.
Bookstore
Bookwarming for Jerry Harp: the gathering celebrates the publication of Harp’s new books, “Urban Flowers, Concrete Plains,” and “A Poetry Criticism Reader.”

Tuesday, December 5, 6 p.m.
The Co-op
Brainstorming for the 2007 Environmental Symposium: the department of environmental studies is seeking expert speakers for its 2007 symposium titled “Situating Crisis.”

Tuesday, December 19, 3 to 5 p.m.
Albany Quadrangle, Smith Hall
President’s holiday party for faculty and staff: refreshments will be served to celebrate the holidays.

People News

New faces on campus

Several new faces have joined the Lewis & Clark community recently including:

Ray Bridges, cashier, Cashier and Credit office; Andrew Mickelson, campus safety officer, Campus Safety; Kristin Hutson, legal secretary, Legal Clinic; and Andrew Teitelman, staff attorney, National Crime Victim Law Institute.

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:

Michael Johanson, visiting assistant professor of music, has been chosen as an ASCAPLUS Award recipient by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers. Awards are granted by an independent panel and are based upon the unique prestige value of each writer’s catalog of original compositions, as well as recent performances in areas not surveyed by the Society.

Janet Neuman, associate dean of law faculty, delivered the Fall 2006 Distinguished Lecture at Florida State University College of Law. Her lecture titled, “Chop Wood, Carry Water: Cutting to the Heart of the World's Water Woes,” will be published in Florida State University’s Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law.

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:

Trusteeship Magazine (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges): Commentary piece by President Hochstettler (“Better data on student achievement are needed to improve higher education” examines benefits of a national student database. November/December 2006.

Willamette Week: Jack Bogdanski, professor of law, is referenced in an article about property tax cuts granted for the South Waterfront development project. November 20, 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

Friends of Rain concert

The faculty contemporary music ensemble, the Friends of Rain, is set to perform a concert on Wednesday, December 6, at 8 p.m. in Evans Auditorium. The program focuses on solo compositions written in the last 50 years and traverses a wide spectrum of compositional styles and aesthetics, from Ian Clarke’s pop-infused “Zoom Tube” to Olivier Messiaen’s landmark composition “Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus.” The concert also features recent works by artistic director Michael Johanson and Lewis & Clark bassist Daniel Schulte. Featured soloists are Brett Paschal, Sue McBerry, Scott Kritzer, Daniel Shulte, Stephanie Thompson, Carolyn Arnquist, and Nancy Teskey.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $15 at the door. For more information, call 7461.

Missing Pieces and Whole Stories: Renaissance in Indian Country

Charles Hudson (Mandan/Hidatsah), public affairs manager for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, will lead an in-depth discussion of how salmon support the renaissance in Indian Country on Thursday, December 7, at 4 p.m. The event, called “Missing Pieces and Whole Stories: Renaissance in Indian Country,” is free and open to the public.

Formed in 1977, the Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is the policy and technical coordinating agency for fishery management of the Columbia River Basin’s four treaty tribes: the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The event is sponsored by the graduate school’s Oregon Center for Inquiry and Social Innovation. “Missing Pieces” takes place at Lewis & Clark’s South Campus Conference Center, room 107. For more information, call ext. 6099.

Concert features student composers

Lewis & Clark College’s music department presents a concert of works composed and performed by students. The event on Thursday, December 7 at 8 p.m. in Evans Auditorium is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature works written by Gavin Duffy, Rob Dietrich, Nathan Holmes, Avery Jepsen-Minyard, Brian Hoberg, Jon Ramm-Gramenz, Andrew Yip, and Toyomi Yoshida. The music will include pieces written for solo performers as well as chamber ensembles. For more information, call ext. 7461.

Oregon Repertory Singers: The Glory of Christmas

The Oregon Repertory Singers present “The Glory of Christmas on Saturday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Agnes Flanagan Chapel. The concert features “Carols and Lullabies from the Southwest” by San Francisco composer Conrad Susa, along with motets and carols from around the world. The concert ends with the traditional sing-a-long. A limited number of complimentary tickets are available at the College bookstore. For more information, call ext. 7461.

Portland Baroque Orchestra: Handel’s Messiah

Portland Baroque Orchestra will perform Handel’s “Messiah” on Sunday, December 17, at 3 p.m., and Monday December 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

Sunday’s concert is a complete performance of Handel’s masterpiece oratorio featuring world-class soloists. Grammy-nominated co-director of the Boston Early Music Festival, Stephen Stubbs, makes his directing debut joined by English tenor Julian Podger, rising-star soprano Anne-Carolyn Bird, and American countertenor David Walker. Charles Robert Stephens reprises his powerful interpretations of the Messiah’s bass solos.

Monday’s concert will be a shorter sampling of “Messiah” highlights paired with J.S. Bach’s “Magnificat.”

A limited number of discounted tickets for the Lewis & Clark community are available through the College bookstore for the Lewis & Clark community. For more information, visit www.pbo.org or call 503-226-6000.

Upcoming

Visit the campus Web calendar for events coming up in December and January.