Dempsey Foundation Funds Environmental Chair at Willamette

The Dempsey Foundation has endowed The Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics at Willamette University.

The $1.5 million endowment will support an endowed chair in the Environmental and Earth Sciences Department in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA.) The endowed chair furthers Willamette’s commitment to interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching and research in environmental science. The chair holder will also coordinate the nationally recognized Dempsey Environmental Lecture Series with a focus on environmental concerns such as forest management, sustainability and conservation.

The first occupant of the Dempsey Chair will be Professor Joe Bowersox, who has taught politics at Willamette University since 1993 and who has served as chair of the University’s Sustainability Council since 2004. He published work has focused on forest management and environmental politics.

Willamette University has 17 endowed chairs: 10 in CLA, two in the College of Law, four in the Atkinson Graduate School of Management and one chair that rotates among the three schools. Endowed chairs, awarded to faculty members who exemplify the highest standards of scholarship, offer financial assistance with publication, collaborative research and programmatic enhancements.

Willamette University President M. Lee Pelton said, “The timing of this gift is particularly meaningful. Willamette is now part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to broaden our pedagogy to involve students and faculty in the challenges of climate change and its influence on global ecological and social systems.

“Additionally, Willamette was recently recognized for our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in the construction and design of Kaneko Commons. The residence hall is currently being considered for a LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating of silver or gold with its energy saving systems, lighting, water recovery and sustainable building materials. With these efforts in mind, we believe the Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics is the perfect match for Willamette University.”

The Dempsey Foundation will provide a gift of $500,000 to be added to an earlier gift of $1 million, which in 2004 created the Dempsey Environmental Science Fund.

Heather K. Dempsey graduated from the Environmental and Earth Sciences Department at Willamette University in 1997 and has been a University Trustee since 2004. She presented the gift on behalf of the Dempsey Foundation at the May 12 Board of Trustee meeting.

[ email this story ]

Willamette Professors Receive National Mathematics Grant

Two Willamette University math professors have received a $491,400 grant from the National Science Foundation to provide an eight-week summer research experience for math students and teachers.

The grant was recently awarded to Willamette assistant math professors Inga Johnson and Colin Starr, who are the leaders of the Willamette Valley Consortium for Mathematics Research. The consortium comprises four Oregon schools: Willamette University, Linfield College, Lewis & Clark College and the University of Portland.

Each of the four schools will host a summer research team of four undergraduates, two faculty members and one teacher from the K-12 or community college level. Each team will focus on a project from faculty research interests in number theory, probability and statistics, geometry, computer science or applied analysis. All four teams will gather once a week for talks about their projects, presentations by invited speakers and social activities.

Participants at Willamette will work with Johnson and Starr to study the Frobenius Problem, also known as the “postage stamp problem,” a topic in number theory.

The summer program is open to teachers and students nationwide. The final application deadline is April 6, although preference will be given to applications received by March 30. To apply or learn more about the consortium, go to www.willamette.edu/cla/math/REU-RET.

[ email this story ]

Hekun Wu and his Cello Go to New York

Music faculty member Hekun Wu will join some of the world’s finest musicians this month at New York’s Carnegie Hall. He will perform Jan. 22 as a cellist at a benefit for relief efforts in the war-ravaged African area of Darfur.

As well as being the music director and conductor for the Salem Chamber Orchestra, Wu is a world-class cellist who has performed across Europe, Asia and the U.S. At Carnegie Hall, he will be part of a specially assembled orchestra of musicians from around the globe, including members of the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and others. The group will give a single performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem.”

For more information about the event, called “Requiem for Darfur,” visit http://www.democracycouncil.org/darfur.cfm. To learn more about Wu, visit “Hekun Wu: Playing a New Song.”

[ email this story ]

Link Between Autism and Mental Retardation Lacks Data

A Willamette University professor’s recent article in the journal “Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities” challenges the long-held assumption that individuals with autism are mentally retarded, a finding that could potentially change the way families and schools across the country care for children with autism. The finding is especially significant because autism is assuming epidemic proportions, with the number of children diagnosed increasing more than 20 percent each year according to the U.S. Department of Health.

Meredyth Goldberg Edelson’s findings, published in the Summer 2006 issue of “Focus,” are expected to generate controversy, but other peers back her up. When the journal decided to publish claims that challenge 60 years of accepted assumptions, the editors solicited two highly respected autism experts to respond.

“We anticipated strong reservations and were surprised that both individuals commended Meredy for raising the question and for her careful approach to analyzing the data,” said Co-Editor Juane Heflin. Both responses called for more extensive and objective research.

“Although she is challenging the status quo, the quality of Edelson’s work is excellent,” said Richard Simpson, professor of special education at the University of Kansas and former editor of the journal “Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.”

“There are so many claims and they’re so widespread that no one has bothered to look at the data behind the claims,” said the Willamette psychology professor. “Many claims are based on faulty data or no data at all, and data that is available is 35 to 40 years old and based on measures that don’t even measure intelligence. No one had ever systematically analyzed the evidence in support of those claims.”

Edelson examined the autism research to determine whether these claims were based on empirical data, what the quality of the data is, and whether non-empirical claims could be traced to data. She reviewed 215 studies (dating from 1937 to 2003) that made 223 claims about the rates of mental retardation in autism. Only 58 of those claims were supported by data, 165 were made in the absence of data, and 8 made both empirical and non-empirical claims. Newer non-empirical claims cited older empirical claims, often based on faulty measurements.

“Most researchers reported their results without describing how they measured intelligence,” Edelson said. “And the way intelligence is measured varies widely, with nearly all of the studies based on inappropriate measures. Some used development measures or adaptive skills scales, which are not measures of intelligence. Many times, if the researchers had a child they couldn’t test, they just assumed he or she was retarded and assigned a low IQ score.

“Typical intelligence tests require children to have good verbal skills, among other things, but since autism impairs a child’s ability to communicate with and relate to others, children with autism don’t perform well,” she said.

In an earlier study, Edelson assessed children with the Test of Non-verbal Intelligence (TONI), which involves abstract reasoning and does not require a verbal response. Using the TONI, Edelson found the children in the study had an average intelligence score of approximately 90, which indicates average intelligence. Only 19 percent of Edelson’s subjects scored in the mentally retarded range. A second study conducted in Taiwan with children who were even less verbal confirmed the earlier results.

“I’m not saying that children with autism are or are not mentally retarded,” Edelson said. “I’m just saying the literature doesn’t scientifically support the claims.”

Because retardation in children with autism has been so widely accepted, Edelson said schools and parents have lowered expectations of this group. “In the 1950s, children with autism were institutionalized,” she said. “Today we know that they have more options, from education and treatment to life plans including college and careers, marriage and children. If most children with autism aren’t mentally retarded, we need to find ways for them to interact with society and help them become all they can.”

Edelson’s Findings
Edelson’s research indicated that most of the claims regarding the rates of mental retardation (MR) in children with autism were not based on empirical data.

• Seventy-four percent of the articles that made claims about the prevalence of MR in children with autism came from non-empirical articles; only 26% derived from empirical studies.
• Of the 165 non-empirical claims made, 36% never made a citation in support of the claim; an additional 8% made a citation that did not provide evidence to support the claim; and 21% claimed that a higher percentage of children with autism were mentally retarded than was claimed in the citation used to support the percentage.
• A total of 53% of the non-empirical articles making claims about the prevalence of MR in children with autism never traced back to an empirical source when the citation trail was followed historically.
• Nearly two-thirds of the empirical studies cited by authors of non-empirical articles were published prior to 1980, yet nearly 77% of all non-empirical claims have been published since 1980.
• The results found that empirical studies utilizing developmental measures or adaptive skills measures (that made estimates of intelligence or that assumed that un-testable children had MR, as was frequently done in the 1960s and 1970s) reported average prevalence rates of 80.53% for MR in children with autism, and studies that utilized none of the methods reported average prevalence rates of 55.91% for MR in children with autism.

There were other difficulties with the empirical studies as well. Given these findings, there does not appear to be good data supporting the claims about high rates of MR in children with autism.

Full Article Reprint: www.willamette.edu/dept/comm/reprint/edelson/

[ email this story ]

911 for Threatened Plants

A well-intentioned hiker who wanders off the trail at Cascade Head to capture a scenic photo may unintentionally trample one of the last existing populations of the seabluff carnation, known to scientists as Silene douglasii var. oraria.

There are three remaining populations in the world—all in Oregon, where the flower is listed as “threatened.” They grow precipitously along the cliffs of Cascade Head, seven miles north of Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. The spectacular headland is a Nature Conservancy preserve and United Nations Biosphere Reserve.

Scientists hope to restore threatened plants in the Pacific Northwest. They have reintroduced native plant species and helped repopulate vulnerable areas for years, but Willamette University Professor Susan Kephart is trying a new tack. Instead of planting annuals, the quick and easy way to repopulate coastal prairies, she coordinated the planting of nearly 1,000 perennial seeds and seedlings by students, local citizens and Earthwatch volunteers.

Her restoration and research findings were featured as the October cover story in The American Journal of Botany and have generated inquiries from around the world.

Kephart and Willamette student Diana Lofflin posed several critical questions: Can we successfully reintroduce rare plants? Do plants with a more diverse genetic background have higher survival rates than inbred plants? How can we best restore native populations?

“We found that continued inbreeding within a closely related group of plants is linked to poor seedling survival and affects the viability of future generations,” Kephart said.

Willamette University students and Earthwatch Institute volunteers from around the world helped Kephart and Lofflin compare seedling establishment of the rare coastal plant with its more widespread relatives in the Cascade Mountains.

The seabluff carnation is one of many species scattered across fragmented habitats in isolated, at-risk plant communities, and may be losing the genetic diversity that would help it cope with future threats. It is affected by coastal development, trampling, damage from seed predators and browsing deer. Climate change may pose another yet-unstudied threat.

The good news is that Kephart’s research shows that it is possible to reintroduce rare plants, even on grazed areas.

“But the plants with a more diverse genetic background have a better chance of survival than inbred progeny,” Kephart said. “It’s the same idea as not marrying your cousin. Lethal genes in a family lineage can hide in individuals, but they can come together in offspring, leading to stunting or death.”

Kephart’s research shows that inbred offspring are, in fact, stunted and have yellowed leaves, while outbred plants are larger and put forth more abundant flowers.

She has studied native plant populations at Cascade Head for more than 20 years; the current reintroduction project began in 1998.

Kephart and her students would like to see self-sustaining seabluff carnation populations restored to their historical habitat, along with continued protection of native grasslands.

“Oregon’s headlands were once mostly native flower prairies,” Kephart said. “Although reintroduction is a relatively recent and potentially important restoration tool, its benefits are still uncertain since much research remains to be done.”

[ email this story ]

Eighth Willamette Professor of the Year Named

Willamette University has been honored with eight Oregon Professors of the Year since 1990. The outstanding teachers include economics professor Jerry Gray in 2005, political science professor Suresht Bald in 2003, history professor William Duvall in 1998, physics professor Daniel Montague in 1995, chemistry professor Arthur Payton in 1994, art history professor Roger Hull in 1993, psychology professor Mary Ann Youngren in 1991 and chemistry professor Frances Chapple in 1990.

“To my mind and in the eyes of his students and colleagues, Jerry Gray belongs in this group,” President M. Lee Pelton said of the latest recipient. “He shares his colleagues’ passion for education and, like them, he has fostered in his students an enthusiasm for learning that is the essence of education.”

The Oregon Professor of the Year Award is given by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

To read a story about this year’s recipient, visit: Jerry Gray: 2005 Oregon Professor of the Year.

[ email this story ]

Rock and Roll: Disturbing New Earthquake Trends

Earthquakes have recently cut a devastating swath through the world, shaking up Pakistan, Japan, India, Peru, Chile, New Guinea and California. So what’s going on?

“Nothing,” said Scott Pike, earth science professor at Willamette University. It’s business as usual for the earth, which sees about one and a half million earthquakes each year.

“We’re seeing normal seismic activity,” Pike said. “What’s new is an increase in devastation due to increased population and environmental degradation.”

Massive deforestation in Pakistan for the past half century has resulted in soil erosion and unstable mountainsides, he said. The recent quake displaced already loose soil, and rainfall caused soil and rocks to form river-like mudflows, which swallowed everything in their path. Boulders lost their grip and crashed down mountainsides, flattening houses below. In all, more than 79,000 people died as a result of the October quake.

“In Pakistan the earthquake itself caused severe damage,” Pike said, “but the post-earthquake damage was just as devastating.”

Could the same scenario unfold in the Pacific Northwest?

Pike said there are major differences between this region and Pakistan. The Himalayas have much steeper slopes than the population centers near the Cascades, and U.S. forest cuts tend to be less extensive and more controlled. But living in the Pacific Northwest isn’t without risks.

“The rush for development in Oregon’s coastal communities has led to construction on unstable slopes,” Pike said. “You have to worry about erosion and landslides into the ocean, and about tsunamis, which are often caused by earthquakes.”

Some Salem homes are at risk, Pike added. “If we were to have a major earthquake we could potentially see landslides in south Salem along the banks of the river. Salem’s higher neighborhoods sit on top of Columbia basalts, a hard rock formation that overlays softer sedimentary rock. Normal erosion activities weaken the sandstone beneath the basalts. On Fairmont Hill, for instance, you can see some scarps from past landslides. There is potential for slippage there during a major quake.”

The earth is like a giant jigsaw puzzle that’s always in flux, said Pike. Tectonic plates float on top of the earth’s plastic mantle, which flows much like a conveyor belt. Where the plates meet, stress builds until its force overcomes friction and the plates suddenly slip.

“The plates don’t move gradually, but in jerky motions,” he said. “They slam into or away from each other, or slide past each other, causing land displacement. When they occur at sea they can result in tsunamis like the one that occurred in Indonesia last December.

“Not all earthquakes are directly related to plate tectonics,” Pike said. There have been large historical earthquakes far from plate boundaries. The earth’s entire surface is always potentially volatile.

According to Pike, many minor quakes occur in Oregon each year.

“A large cluster is concentrated in the southern Cascades, with a small cluster east of Salem. We don’t feel them because they’re so small,” he said. “About 300 years ago there was a major slippage in this area. We can expect a similarly powerful quake within the next 200 years. Unfortunately, our prediction tools are not very precise. We can’t say when it will happen.”

Earthquakes are sometimes a precursor to volcanic eruptions, he added. “An increase in seismic activity near Mount St. Helens tells us that magma is probably on the way up.”

The science of seismology began after the 1906 quake flattened San Francisco.

“We began measuring seismic activity at that time and our understanding of the causes of earthquakes has drastically improved, but earthquakes are still fairly unpredictable.”

In other words, he added, we understand the how but not the when.

[ email this story ]

New Office to Aid Faculty

Here’s an OFFRR faculty shouldn’t refuse. It’s the newly created Office for Faculty Research and Resources located in Gatke Hall and directed by Gary Tallman, professor of biology and holder of the Taul Watanable Endowed Chair in Science.

The office, which opened in June, will promote and support faculty research and creative pedagogy for the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Education. Assisting Tallman are Pat Alley, associate director, and Kendra Mingo, grants specialist. While Alley and Mingo will devote their full attention to the new initiative, Tallman will split his time between OFFRR and his teaching and research commitments.

The office will help faculty identify sources of grant funding for research and teaching programs and identify foundations appropriate for both purposes. “We will assist faculty with proposal preparation, grant administration and post-award reporting,” Tallman said. “If a grant is renewable, we’ll assist with that process as well. We are available to help individual faculty and groups of faculty seeking grants for interdisciplinary course work and projects.” OFFRR is currently investigating available databases that will assist faculty with locating funding sources

Educating faculty about the finer points of grantsmanship is another function envisioned for the new office. OFFRR will coordinate workshops for faculty on how to find grant sources and how to write proposals. OFFRR will also encourage faculty members to attend off-campus grant writing workshops.

To get things rolling, the office will sponsor a faculty colloquium, “Securing Grants for Research & Teaching: Faculty Tell Their Stories,” Friday, Oct. 28, at 3 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge. Along with WITS and the International Debate Education Association, OFFRR will also host in Gatke Hall the TGIF event following the colloquium.

According to Tallman, policy development is the fourth objective of OFFRR’s mission. “We will help faculty develop policies related to research that are currently lacking. For example, we have no policy on allocation of indirect costs associated with federal grants that typically cover overhead. We also need policies that address intellectual property and research ethics.”

OFFRR will also attempt to help faculty secure funding for projects that fall outside the foundation arena.

“OFFRR will act as a clearinghouse for faculty projects,” he said. “We now have regular meetings with the major gift officers in University Relations to discuss faculty needs and how they might be prioritized and addressed. We encourage faculty to begin their funding requests with us and let us champion their project.”

As the name suggests, OFFRR serves full-time faculty and administrators with faculty status in the CLA and School of Education. OFFRR will also support the development of joint projects among Willamette’s various schools and colleges that involve in a substantive way faculty members from the CLA or School of Education.

[ email this story ]

Pledge Reflects Nation’s Anxieties

The history of the Pledge of Allegiance isn’t as straightforward as one might think, according to a new book by Willamette University Professor Richard Ellis.

“The Pledge speaks to the American values of liberty and justice for all, which resonates with people to this day,” said Ellis, “but it also speaks to American anxieties about inadequate patriotism and newcomers.”

Written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, the Pledge reflected native-born Protestant fears of increasing Catholic and Jewish immigration to the United States, said the author of “To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance.” Many citizens shared the view that the rising flood of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe – with their different ethnic and religious backgrounds – was threatening to destroy national unity and identity.

“Most Western democracies don’t have children start each day by pledging allegiance to their country,” Ellis said. “At the turn of the century, many felt that a daily recitation of allegiance would help inoculate immigrant school children against radical social ideas.”

In 2002, when a federal judge ruled that the words “under God” were unconstitutional, violating separation of church and state, many Americans felt that the decision did violence to one of our most sacred patriotic rites. But according to Ellis, the words “under God” are a relatively recent addition, tacked on in 1954 at the height of the McCarthy era, to differentiate the United States from the atheistic communists.

For more than a century, the Pledge has been inserted into a fervent national dialogue about who we are as a people, and what it means to be an American.

“Those most fearful about threats to our national identity,” Ellis observed, “have often been the most insistent on the importance of patriotic rituals.”

The Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University, Ellis has authored a number of books on American political culture, the presidency and the initiative process.

[ email this story ]

Final Concert for Conductor McIntosh

Salem Chamber Orchestra conductor Bruce McIntosh will pass the baton to guest conductor Charles Heiden in a concert Sunday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in Hudson Hall in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center at Willamette University.

The concert will feature soloists Daniel Rouslin, Salem Chamber Orchestra concertmaster, and Michinobu Iimori, first chair oboe. The evening program includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonin Dvorak and Bohuslav Martinu.

Tickets may be purchased at Jackson’s Books (503-399-8694) or by calling the orchestra office at 503-375-5483.

McIntosh founded the Salem Chamber Orchestra as the Willamette Community Orchestra in 1984. He has been teaching music at the University since 1969.

[ email this story ]

Faculty Recognized

As part of the recent Founders Day celebration, six faculty members were recognized for their outstanding scholarship and teaching. Honorees and their awards include:

• Professor Lou Goble, the Lawrence Cress Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship;
• Professor Meredy Edelson; the Jerry Hudson Award for Excellence in Teaching;
• Professor Steve Rhine, the United Methodist Award for Exemplary Teaching and Service;
• Professor Elliot Maltz, the United Methodist Award for Exemplary Teaching and Service;
• Professor Norman Williams, the Robert Misner Award for Faculty Scholarship; and
• Professor Bill Duvall, the Mortar Board Professor of the Year.

“The recognition that they have received for individual merit reflects the faculty’s broader commitment to their disciplines, to students, to classroom instruction as well as to the Willamette community,” said President Lee Pelton. “Please join me in congratulating them on their awards.”

[ email this story ]

Willamette University Names New University Librarian

Deborah B. Dancik, currently the associate director of libraries at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, will begin her new job as university librarian at Willamette University in Salem, Or., July 1.

“We are fortunate that Deborah Dancik has agreed to join us,” said Carol Long, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “Our library and its staff play a crucial role in the academic experience of our students and the ongoing scholarship of our faculty. Deborah brings 30 years of library experience to Willamette. She understands the challenges and opportunities that face academic libraries today, and we look forward to her leadership.”

Dancik’s career has included the management of public services and collections, the integration of new technologies into the library, and the reorganization and renovation of library buildings. She has served on the board of directors of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association and is a member of the editorial board of portal: libraries and the academy.

Her publications and presentations speak to topics from scholarly publishing to building management.

Dancik earned her undergraduate degree in English and her master’s of library science at the University of Michigan as well as a master's in educational administration from the University of Alberta.

[ email this story ]

Faculty Member Selected for Conference on the Middle East

Robert Dash, political science professor at Willamette University, is one of 12 faculty members selected from a national pool of 135 candidates to attend a U.S. Department of State seminar in Amman, Jordan. The three-week seminar began Dec. 28 and concludes Jan. 18.

The seminar provides faculty members from various academic fields the opportunity to learn more about the Middle East, to discuss ways to develop courses or adapt existing courses to focus on the Middle East and/or Islam, and visit archaeological sites such as Petra and Jerash.

The seminar is designed for faculty members not already experts on the subject with the expectation that they will use the new insights and knowledge when they return to their home institutions.

Dash has been teaching at Willamette since 1986.

[ email this story ]

Concert will Introduce New Music Faculty Member

On Sept 16 at 7:30 pm in Hudson Hall, Mary Stuart Rogers Music Building, Dr. Susan St. John will introduce herself to the Willamette community in grand style. St. John, a voice instructor and the new director of the Willamette University Musical Theatre/Opera Workshop, will join with Portland accompanist/conductor Richard Bower to present a concert of diverse vocal music from the classical and musical theatre repertoire. St. John and Bower specialize in entertaining and thought-provoking recitals that combined the various styles of Leonard Bernstein, Mozart, Donizetti, Kurt Weill, Britten, Copland, Puccini, Stephen Sondheim and others.

[ email this story ]

Willamette University Professor Named Oregon Professor of the Year

Suresht Renjen Bald, a Willamette University politics professor for 21 years, is the Oregon Professor of the Year. Selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Bald is one of 43 professors honored nationally from a pool of 400 nominees.

In the last 13 years, the Carnegie Foundation and CASE have named seven Willamette University faculty members Oregon Professor of the Year.

“Professor Bald is widely regarded as a master teacher, virtually a legend on the Willamette campus,” said Willamette University President M. Lee Pelton. “She is recognized for her early use and development of the case-method approach to teaching American foreign policy and for her pioneering efforts in adapting collaborative learning to small-group settings.

“The best teachers have the most crammed address books, filled with students’ names and address changes over many years of acquaintance, and not just during the four years of their undergraduate education.” He added, “Professor Bald stands firmly in this fine tradition.”

Born in India, Bald was drawn to teaching at a very young age. “I would come home from my school and promptly gather all the children of the immediate neighborhood and run a ‘school,’ she said. “In hindsight, I think I became a better learner by ‘teaching.’ While this experience planted in me a vague desire to teach, ironically, it was my pompous and ineffective professors at Delhi University who fed and gave shape to that wish.”

With a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history from Delhi University, Bald came to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in government at Harvard University. She taught at the University of California, Riverside and Santa Cruz, before joining the Willamette University faculty in 1982.

In 1985, Bald received the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award in teaching and subsequent awards for teaching and scholarship. In 1990, she was awarded the Pew Fellowship in International Affairs. The Willamette faculty selected her as their mentor for 1993-97, an honor that for Bald is especially meaningful.

In 1998, she was invited by the president of Josai International University in Chiba-ken, Japan, to help design a program in women’s studies. She returns to Japan every summer to teach the core courses for the program.

“I consider teaching a political act,” Bald said, “How we teach can either empower or disenfranchise out students: we can either encourage them to think independently, read and write critically, and accept diversity of ideas and cultures as enriching rather than threatening, or, we can crush their spirit of inquiry in insisting on conformity, acceptance and deference.

“Having had first-hand experience with the latter, I have consciously chosen to follow the former route in my teaching. To me, the most rewarding moment is when I see a student’s crinkled eyebrows straighten, her eyes acquire a clarity and twinkle for she has figured out a particular complex point in the text. In that moment, she has come closer to being an independent learner for she has discovered the joy of working something out for herself.”

She added, “I believe that while we are engaged in the intellectual development of our students, we would be remiss as educators if we neglected to foster in them a sense of ethical responsibility as citizens of an increasingly complex and diverse global community. I am deeply aware that one day my students will be in positions of power, as scholars engaged in the production of knowledge, or as decision-makers in government or private organizations. I hope at that time if they make decisions that impact other human beings or the environment, they will remember some of the heated discussions in my classroom and act in a socially responsible way. I believe in my students’ sound judgment and sense of decency. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to learn with a new group of bright, eager students every semester.”

Among the pile of enthusiastic nomination letters from colleagues and former students, is a letter from Erin Dougherty, Sitka, Alaska, Willamette University Class of 2000. She writes, “I was recently awarded a Fulbright grant to study in Norway for the 2003-04 academic year. Professor Bald was instrumental in helping me define my Fulbright proposal. With the Fulbright, I will study the Sami, the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia, and their development as a political force within the Norwegian state. I decided to pursue a project like the Fulbright because of an increased interest in international politics and its effect on women and indigenous minority groups. This interest first began in class with Professor Bald and I credit her for opening a new world of research for me.”

Stephen Kirk, a 1993 Willamette graduate, is now a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of Chicago. He said, “Professor Bald has had a major impact on my life. I decided to pursue an academic career largely because of her influence. She strengthened my passion for politics and served as a role model for the kind of career I would like to have. I have focused on public policy analysis, using the tools of political science to address issues of public concern. I hope my dissertation is true to her philosophy.”

Professor Bald will retire from Willamette University next spring.

[ email this story ]

Faculty Colloquium Spring 2003

Coordinated by David P. Craig

Dr. Martin Behnke
Department of Music
Chants: Metamorphosis of a Composition
January 29, Wednesday @ 10:20 AM
Rogers Rehearsal Hall

Dr. Sue Koger
Department of Psychology
What on earth are we doing? The psychology of environmental problems and solutions
January 31 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Dr. April Overstreet
Department of Spanish
The 'Trinity in Crisis' of Spanish Author Luis Landero
February 7 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Dr. Gary Tallman
Department of Biology
If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the lab! Cultured guard cells as a model of plant thermotolerance
February 21 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Dr. Andrea Wallace
Department of Art and Art History
Rochell and Brian +5 / Community Based Art
March 14 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Dr. John Uggen
Department of Spanish
The Expansion of British Investment in Ecuador: From the Ecuadorian Association to the Ecuadorian Corporation
April 4 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Drs. Mike Nord & Genevieve Orr
Department of Music & Department of Computer Science
Transitions:A Professional Development Model for Collaborative Multimedia Creation
April 11 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Dr. Thabiti Lewis
Department of English
New Jack Athletes: Race, Sport and American Culture
May 2 @ 3:00 PM
Alumni Lounge - Third Floor of the Putnam University Center

Other Notes
All talks, except for Dr. Behnke's, start at 3:00 PM in the Alumni Lounge immediately preceding the TGIF. This is an intentional effort to encourage a synergy between our scholarly and social lives.

Most of these dates do not conflict with the Asian Studies Lecture/Workshop Series in an effort to reduce scheduling conflicts.

Highlights of the Asian Studies Lecture/Workshop Series

(6) Special Faculty Presentation: Reading Movies: Film and Narrative in Kishino Junko's Memoir
by Professor Ron Loftus
Time: Feb. 14, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(7) Special Faculty Presentation: Formation of National Culture and the Classicization of Music: Perspectives from South and Southeast Asia.
by Professor Pamela Moro
Time: Feb. 21, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(8) Special Faculty Presentation: Cultural Exchange along the Silk Road
by Professor Xijuan Zhou
Time: Feb. 28, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(9) Special Faculty Presentation: Textile Weaving in India and Laos: Globalization and Gender
by Professors Carol Ireson-Doolittle and Suresht Bald
Time: March. 7, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(10) Special Faculty Presentation: Group Harmony "WA" and Japanese Language
by Professor Miho Fujiwara
Time: March 14, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(11) Horses and Societies in Medieval Eurasia
by Professor Pamela Crossley, Dartmouth College
Internationally renowned scholar of Chinese history and ethnicity
Time: April 3
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(12) Special Faculty Presentation: From Fengshui to the Pursuit of Harmony
by Professor J. Zhang
Time: April 11, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

(13) Special Faculty Presentation: Healing the Body, Saving the Soul: Medical Missionaries and Opium Refuges in China, 1859 - 1906
by Professor P. Howard
Time: April 18, 2:30-4:00
Place: TBA (Refreshments provided)

[ email this story ]

Willamette Appoints Associate Chaplain/Lilly Grant Director

Dr. Karen L. Wood will join the Willamette University administration Aug. 19 as associate chaplain for vocational exploration, a five-year position funded by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. Wood will take primary responsibility for implementing and directing the grant, which focuses on the religious, spiritual and ethical dimensions of vocation.

“The grant seeks to evoke a consciousness of calling in Willamette students – both in the direction of traditional ministry and in the wider sense of other helping professions,” said Charlie Wallace, Willamette University Chaplain and chair of the Lilly Grant implementation committee. The Lilly grant will also fund new courses, internships, and summer study possibilities, retreats, art and music projects, and enhanced opportunities for service learning.

A native of Ohio and a graduate of Brown University, Wood has a master’s of divinity and doctor of theology degrees from Harvard. Her work experience includes brief stints in residence life and teaching at Wellesley College and chaplaincy at Smith College, four years as director and two years as associate dean for student life at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and four years as a program associate with the National Conference of Christians and Jews, also in New York. She comes to Willamette from the position of dean of student affairs at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland.

“Karen brings great experience and skills to our position,” added Wallace. “In a national search we are lucky to have found such a wonderful candidate so close to home. Everyone who met her on campus is looking forward to working with her.”

Wood currently sits on the boards of the Mt. Hood Repertory Theatre and the Friends of the Martin Buber House in the USA, and on the Theater Grants Panel of the Oregon Arts Commission. She is an avid backpacker and mountain climber.

[ email this story ]

New Coordinator of Professional Development and Multicultural Affairs Named

Willamette University College of Law is pleased to announce the appointment of Marva C. Fabien to coordinator of professional development and multicultural affairs effective January 4, 2001.

In this new position, Ms. Fabien will assist Professor Jennifer Wright, director of the clinical law program, with the administration of the externship program and will also work with Professor Sam Jacobson, legal research and writing, with the implementation of the academic support program. Ms. Fabien is also responsible for multicultural planning, programming, and student affairs in the College of Law. She will work closely with the offices of admission, career services, and development and alumni services.

Ms. Fabien, most recently, was the assistant superintendent for the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. She was appointed to the Oregon Board of Parole and Post Prison Supervision in 1993, eventually serving as chairperson. Ms. Fabien served as the academic support director for Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law in Portland, Oregon from 1988 to 1993. She has also been an attorney in private practice and also was a staff attorney for the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service in Portland, Oregon. She is a member of both the Oregon Bar and Idaho Bar. Ms. Fabien earned her law degree at Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law and her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Oregon. She is a native of Trinidad.

[ email this story ]

Willamette Appoints New Mathematics Chair

Willamette University announces today that Professor D. Richard Iltis has been named as holder of the James T. Matthews Professor of Mathematics chair, a position that has been vacant for 28 years.

Matthews, for whom the chair was named, held Willamette's first endowed chair from 1923 until his death in 1942. Professor Chester Luther then held the Matthews chair from 1942 until his retirement in 1972. The position has been vacant from 1972 to today.

Iltis has been a mathematics professor at Willamette University since 1972, specializing in statistics. He came to Willamette after teaching at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill for five years. In 1996, Iltis received the Willamette University Trustees Teaching Award.

"I am pleased to reestablish a chair that is so important to the mathematics department," said Iltis.

This appointment recognizes Iltis for his years of service to Willamette. As part of his new position, Iltis plans to work on bringing outside mathematician speakers to campus.

[ email this story ]