Campus Connections

Issue Date: March 13, 2006

News and Notices

Binford receives prestigious CAREER award

Greta Binford, assistant professor of biology, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award. The award is one of the foundation’s most prestigious and supports the early career development activities of newer teacher-scholars who are considered most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.

Binford will receive $643,877 from the National Science Foundation over a five-year period to develop her research program titled “Venom evolution in brown recluse spiders: a system for undergraduate training in integrative biology.”

Her work under the grant will enable her to engage students in a broad discourse on analyses of biodiversity, and species discovery and identification.

Merck/AAAS award supports faculty-student research

Nikolaus Loening, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a Merck/American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Undergraduate Science Research Program award of $60,000 over three years.

“The award supports student stipends to get students thinking in between the disciplines,” says Loening. “I’m really pleased to get this award. It acknowledges the current research at the College and helps foster even stronger research.”

The primary purpose of the program, which is funded by the Merck Company Foundation and administered by AAAS, is to foster interdisciplinary research experiences for undergraduate students in chemistry and biology.

Celebrate Earth Day

The Environmental Studies program sponsors a campus-wide Earth Day 2006 celebration and day of service.

“We wanted to do a service for this campus in which faculty, staff, and students can take care our little patch of earth,” says Jim Proctor, professor of geography and chair of environmental studies.

The celebration begins with the annual Evan T. Williams Memorial Tree Walk at 12:30 p.m. followed by an English Ivy pull in the ravine from 2 to 5 p.m. Ivy pull participants are invited to dine on local organic foods in Templeton Student Center, Council Chamber at 6 p.m. The day’s events will conclude with a “Do It In the Dark” open mic dance party at the student co-op where the lights will be kept off to conserve energy. For more information, call ext. 7707.

Every building tells a story: Cooley House

In November of 2001, Sue D. Cooley, widow of Edward H. Cooley, the founder and longtime head of Precision Castparts Corporation, donated the Cooley family home for use as a presidential residence. The house was designed in an English Tudor style by architect Ellis F. Lawrence in 1920 for Cameron Squires. The Olmsted Brothers designed the landscaping of the eight-acre estate, which is located in the Dunthorpe neighborhood near the College. In addition to serving as the president’s home, the newly renovated Cooley House provides a venue for hosting a variety of College functions.

Planning Task Force work continues

Lewis & Clark’s planning task force is a coalition of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees. The group is charged with engaging broad sectors of the College community in a dialogue to identify creative ways to achieve and maintain the highest quality in our programs and community life. Follow the task force’s process online.

IT offers spring classes

Information Technology offers ongoing computer training courses. During the next two weeks, these classes are available: Web Page Creation (three-part), Advanced Trillium, Beginning PowerPoint (two-part), and Intermediate PowerPoint. For more information, contact IT at ext. 7020.

Historical snapshot

In 2004, the College of Arts and Sciences adds two new programs: a minor in classical studies and a theatre minor with dance emphasis. View more College milestones online.

People News

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:

Paul Powers, assistant professor of religious studies, published a text book titled, “Intent in Islamic Law: Motive and Meaning in Medieval Sunni Fiqh” (Brill Academic Publishers, 2005). The book explores the legal issue of intent in all major areas of pre-modern Islamic substantive law including ritual, commercial, family, and penal law.

Justin Tussing, visiting assistant professor of English, published a novel titled “The Best People in the World” (HarperCollins, 2006). Set in rural Vermont in the early 1970’s, the novel tells a coming-of-age story about a seventeen year old who falls in love with his history teacher.

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:

KOIN-TV: Jim Huffman, Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law and law school dean, comments on the Supreme Court decision that requires colleges to allow military recruiters on campuses that accept federal funding. March 6, 2006.

KGW-TV: Lewis & Clark is mentioned in a report about Oregon colleges producing top national numbers of Peace Corps volunteers. March 5, 2006.

The Oregonian: Arts preview about the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference mentions Ted Vogel, assistant professor of art and program head of ceramics, for his key role in organizing the council’s 2006 international conference in Portland. March 2, 2006.

Oregon Public Broadcasting radio: John Kroger, associate professor of law, comments on a lawsuit filed against the National Security Agency charging the agency with illegal wiretapping. March 1, 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

Lecture series features Times sports writer and global economist

This spring’s Civility and Politics Lectures Series welcomes two lecturers in March:

Selena Roberts, sports columnist for the New York Times, and Saskia Sassen, the Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, and Centennial Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

“A Conversation with Selena Roberts” takes place on Tuesday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. in Templeton Student Center, Council Chamber. Prior to joining the New York Times, Roberts covered the Minnesota Vikings as a sports writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she also worked on special sports projects during the off-season. She is the author of “A Necessary Spectacle: Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, and the Tennis Match That Leveled the Game” (Crown, 2005).

Sassen will give a lecture titled “The War on Terror as Camouflage for Deeper Transformation,” on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. in Templeton Student Center, Council Chamber. She is the author of “Territory, Authority and Rights: From Medieval to Global Assemblages” (2006: Princeton University Press). Sassen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Cities.

The Civility and Politics Lecture Series is presented by the political science department with support from the Arkay Foundation. The lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, call ext. 7642.

Tolstoy with a twist

Performances of Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz’s play “Anna in the Tropics” continues this week. The production is staged at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, March 16-18, on the Main Stage, Fir Acres Theatre. Tickets are $5 for faculty, staff, alumni, senior citizens, and non–Lewis & Clark students, and $3 for Lewis & Clark students. The box office is open 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays and one hour prior to each performance. For more information call ext. 7495.

Poetry reading series features Rutsala

Vern Rutsala, professor emeritus of English and recent National Book Award finalist, will read from his works as part of the Literary Review Poetry Reading series on Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in Frank Manor House, Armstrong Lounge. The reading is free and open to the public.

Rutsala is the author of 12 collections of poetry, including “The Window,” “Laments,” “The Journey Begins,” and “Little-Known Sports.” Rutsala has received numerous awards for his work. His book “The Moment’s Equation” (Ashland Poetry Press 2005) was named as a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry.

The Lewis & Clark Literary Review is an annual student-published literary journal. For more information, call ext. 7414.

Students organize powwow

Lewis & Clark hosts its first powwow on Friday, March 17, in Templeton Student Center, Fields. Students and tribal members from Oregon gather for intertribal dancing, drumming, and other traditions. The powwow begins with a dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed by the grand entry at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

More than 200 people are expected to attend the event, organized by the College's Native Student Union. David West (Potawatomi), from Southern Oregon University, serves as master of ceremonies. Representatives from several of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes will attend, as will representatives from several tribes from across the country. The host drum will be Star Horse from Warm Springs, and the honor drum will be the Red Land Singers from Portland. For more information, call ext. 7051.

Bansuri flute and sitar jugalbandi

Shashank and Purbayan Chatterjee give a Bansuri flute and sitar jugalbandi performance on Saturday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

Shashank performs around the world and in front of leading dignitaries in India. Purbayan Chatterjee is a disciple of Usatad Ali Akbar Khan and a rising star among sitarists.

This concert is supported by Kalakendra, the Society for the Performing Arts of India, whose mission is to promote and increase awareness of the performing arts of India.

Free advance tickets are available to the Lewis & Clark community at the Bookstore. General admission is $15 in advance through Tickets West (503-244-8499) and $20 at the door. Service charges may apply. For more information, contact ext. 7216.

Watzek series welcomes Barrington and Le Guin

Nationally acclaimed poet Judith Barrington and author Ursula K. LeGuin will read from their works as part of the Watzek Library Poetry Series in Templeton Student Center, Council Chamber on Wednesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public.

Barrington is the author of three poetry collections, a prize-winning memoir, and a text on writing literary memoir. Her work has been included in numerous anthologies including “The Stories That Shape Us: Twenty Women Write About the West,” “A Formal Feeling Comes,” “From Here We Speak: An Anthology of Oregon Poetry,” “The House on Via Gombito,” and “Hers 3.”

Le Guin writes both poetry and prose, and in various formats including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children’s books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voice texts for performance or recording. In 1982, Lewis & Clark awarded her its honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. She has published six books of poetry, 20 novels, more than a hundred short stories, four collections of essays, 11 books for children, and four volumes of translation.

For more information, call ext. 7254.

New music by northwest composers

A concert featuring newly composed works by Bruce Hamilton and Lesley Sommer and music by faculty members Michael Johanson and Forrest Pierce takes place on Friday, March 24, at 8:00 p.m., in Evans Auditorium. Hamilton and Sommer are both faculty of Western Washington University. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact ext. 7461.

Upcoming

Visit the campus Web calendar for events coming up in March.