April 2004 Stories

Roseburg Student Honored as Presidential Scholar

Lori Northcraft, an honors graduate of Roseburg Senior High School, has been named a Presidential Senior Scholar for 2003. Smith is the daughter of Ron and Shirley Northcraft of Roseburg, OR. She is currently a junior at Willamette University in Salem, OR, and is one of two presidential award winners named by the university.

The Presidential Senior Scholar Awards enable outstanding students with a cumulative grade point average of 3.7 and higher to pursue a substantial research project in their senior year. In addition to grade point average, Presidential Scholars are selected on the strength of their research proposal, intellectual caliber and independence of character. The scholarships provide a $2,500 summer stipend and a full semester's tuition in the senior year and or a $5,000 graduate fellowship.

Northcraft, a junior with a major in exercise science and a minor in Spanish, is studying the socioeconomic and cultural influences of the occupational health care decisions of Hispanic farm workers. According to Northcraft, Hispanic farm workers are particularly susceptible to on-the-job back injuries. She's interested in finding out what factors influence whether or not they seek medical treatment. She plans to create an informational booklet on preventing occupational injuries for farm workers. To help remove barriers to seeking medical care, she will also share her research findings with area health care providers.

“Studying abroad in Spain increased my interest in utilizing my Spanish language skills and in learning more about the Hispanic subculture in the United States,” says Northcraft. “This award will allow me to work on a personal level with Oregon's growing Hispanic population and enable me to study first-hand the debilitating effects of untreated labor-related injuries.”

After graduating from Willamette, Northcraft plans to pursue a doctor of physical therapy degree. She wants to work as a physical therapist and use her Spanish skills to work with Spanish-speaking clients and their families.

Three Willamette Debaters Win International Honors

Charlotte “Charli” Hancock, Alex Dukalskis and Matt Lehman have been named grand champions in college-level international debate tournaments in Minske, Belarus and Vilnus, Lithuania. Hancock, a senior majoring in politics and rhetoric, won the grand championship title in Minske, with her teammate, Sergi, from Latvia. She is from Indianola, Wash. Dukalskis, a senior politics major from Roseburg, Ore., and his debate partner, Matt Lehman, a junior politics major from Coos Bay, won top honors at the tournament in Lithuania.

The three were members of a team of eight Willamette University debate students who traveled to Eastern Europe in March to compete with 28 other two-person teams from 12 countries, including Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Romania and Germany, among others. Each year, the rhetoric department takes its top debate students to Eastern European countries. The purpose isn't to win, but to enjoy the cultural exchange. “It's a rich cultural experience,” explains Professor Robert Trapp, who led the team. This is the third year he's taken Willamette debaters to Eastern Europe. “Our kids really like it. It's a way to break down national barriers and create world citizens.”

Hancock won top honors at the Minske tournament with an Eastern European teammate she'd met only 45 minutes prior to the competition. “The unique thing about how Willamette approaches these tournaments is that we're allowed to pair with someone from Eastern Europe,” explains Hancock. “Other American schools at the tournament decided to pair only with people from their own school.”

At the Minske competition, Lehman debated with a student from Poland, which he says proved “really interesting. The reason we went to Eastern Europe was to meet people from other cultures.”

When Dukalskis debated with a student from Belarus, he says he learned a great deal about that country. “Belarus is a really restrictive society,” he says. “The KGB still operates there. While they have an elected president, it's basically a dictatorship. If you oppose the government, you end up in prison or disappear.”

Traveling to Eastern Europe in March where the temperature averaged -11 degrees Fahrenheit proved challenging for students more accustomed to the Pacific Northwest's relatively mild weather. “It was incredibly cold,” Hancock says. “There were three or four feet of snow on the ground. Everything was white and so cold it was hard to think about anything else.”

Professor Trapp says the cold nearly stopped them in their tracks in route from Belarus to Latvia. “We were on a bus and had to stop at a gas station because the fuel was freezing and the bus kept dying,” he says. “We had to take all these little back roads to get to this little town where they put something – kerosene I think – into the tank to lower the freezing point.”

In addition to the cold, Hancock says not speaking Russian proved daunting. “When we were traveling from Vilnus, Lithuania to Minske, we went by train,” she says. “A woman directing us who spoke only English yelled at me because she wanted my ticket and Professor Trapp had our tickets. It was really scary.”

During the competition, Lehman says not speaking Russian was challenging. “Because of the language barrier, I had to speak slowly,” he says. “I couldn't argue as many points because I had to explain everything in depth so that they could understand it.”

Rather than frustrating him, Lehman says the language barrier was a wake-up call about the importance of learning other languages. “The rest of the world focuses more on learning languages than we do,” he says. “It doesn't matter if you know all about a country's monetary fund if you can't speak their language. I learned that language is culturally important. It has definitely made me want to learn a language other than English.”

The international debate experience has also changed the students' world view. “We talk about Africa as a whole, Europe as a whole and Asia as a whole, but they aren't,” Lehman says. “In Europe, there are at least 30 distinctly different countries that have their own individual cultures.”

Dukalskis, whose father is from Latvia and runs nonprofit eye clinic in Rega, Latvia, paired the debate trip with a week in his dad's home country. “My first trip to Latvia was in 1996 when I was 13,” he says. “This time I saw that huge changes had occurred. They're developing and becoming Westernized very quickly. It was like seeing a time lapse.”

So what's next for these Willamette debate champs? Hancock says her experience in Eastern Europe has “definitely peaked my interest in living abroad. I have the ability to be flexible and feel comfortable in new situations. I've taken the foreign service exam and ultimately, I'd like to be an international ambassador.”

Dukalskis has just been awarded a Fulbright Grant to teach English in Korea. He leaves in July for an intensive Korean language training program at Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, Korea.

Lehman says he still wants to go into politics, but now perhaps with an international flair. “I'd like to do some international work,” he says. “I'd like to go to law school, but the Peace Corps would be an interesting experience.”

Two Willamette Students Create Puppet Mania

Put together a classroom of squirmy second graders, colorfully illustrated books about their hometown and fuzzy hand puppets and what do you get? A lot of giggling – and a lot of learning.

That’s what Allison Ervine and Caitlin Hansen, two Willamette University students, found recently when they brought their handmade puppets and their original children’s books to eager students at Lamb Elementary School in Salem, Ore. Ervine, of Everett, Wash., is a senior majoring in English, and wrote the text for Sammy Moves to Salem and Pictures for Lammy. Hansen, of Shelton, Wash., is a senior majoring in art studio, and created the books’ vibrant illustrations. Last year, the students won two prestigious Carson Undergraduate Research Grants, stipends that encourage original student work. The fruits of their labors are two new children’s books, more than 60 handmade puppets and a group of young children who have a better appreciation for where they live.

The impetus for the books was Hammy, a wide-mouthed fuzzy puppet that Hansen made the previous year. “When Allison and I traveled in Europe, we took pictures of the puppet in front of all these famous cathedrals and monuments,” Hansen recalled. “It was fun and became our tradition.”

Ervine suggested that the puppet would make a great children’s book character and their collaboration was born. Ervine would write the stories and Hansen, who has been illustrating her own children’s books since grade school, would provide the illustrations. They decided to produce two books: one about Salem and one about famous places around the world.

“Educational research says that children are more excited about their hometown when they can read about it,” explained Ervine.

“We wanted them to see what’s good about where they live,” said Hansen.

The main character of the Salem book, a puppet renamed Sammy, is an alien whose parents come to earth in search of a nice place to live. Sammy discovers and explores familiar area landmarks like the Capitol, the A.C. Gilbert Children’s Museum and Salem’s Riverfront Carousel.

The second book involves a puppet named Lammy who is on a world-tour, but has forgotten his camera. His friend, Sammy, tries desperately to catch up with the globe-trotting puppet, all the while shooting pictures for Lammy of famous sites like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids of Mexico.

“Allison and I wanted to share the world with kids,” said Hansen. “We wanted to open their eyes to places they might not have seen before.”

Both books feature Hansen’s colorful, labor-intensive illustrations, which are made from pieces of construction paper cut out and layered to form pictures. “I make a drawing onsite or from a photograph and trace the drawing onto construction paper,” explained Hansen. “I start with the background and basic shapes and cut out the pieces and cement them into place as I go. Then I cut out the smaller items and place them.”

The illustrative process, which is so intensive that Hansen has to use tweezers on smaller pieces, can take as long as 15 hours per illustration. “I started dreaming in construction paper,” said Hansen, laughing at the memory. “I’d wake up thinking about the next illustration.” The result was worth it – 52 bold, clean images that seem to jump off the books’ pages.

One of the challenges for the writer was getting the text to a readability level appropriate for second graders. “The writing process was so much harder than I imagined,” said Ervine. “The first draft of my story was at an 8.6 grade reading level. I had to knock that down by shortening sentences and keeping the words short.”

Once the illustrations were completed and the text refined, the women researched printing options. They wanted to print 140 books, so that each child in the classroom could have his or her own copy. Their least expensive option was color copying. The result was surprisingly good. “I worried that the printing and binding wouldn’t look professional,” admited Hansen. “But I was pleasantly surprised by the final product. People have been really enthusiastic about the books.”

Some of their most ardent fans have been the children. During their first foray at the elementary school, Ervine read Sammy Moves to Salem. The familiar places in the book generated a lot of enthusiasm in the children. “Their reactions were great,” said Ervine. “They all wanted to talk at once. One child would say, ‘I’ve been to A.C. Gilbert’ and another would shout, ‘Me too.’ They were really fun.”

After listening to the story, each child wrote and illustrated a page about where they would send Sammy around the area. Sabrina Cline, who drew a picture of Sammy on a swing set, wrote, “I would take Sammy to the park because he is from another galaxy.” Ismael Vianueva drew himself and Sammy enjoying Chuckie Cheese. Nicholas Arvalo, wrote, “I would take Sammy to Hollywood Video because you can play video games.” The class is planning to put the pages together to create their own Sammy book.

To make the books really come alive, Hansen made more than 60 Sammy-type puppets for the children. Each puppet features brightly-colored fake fur, a wide, happy mouth, a red nose and big felt eyes. When they returned to Lamb School with the puppets and the second book, Ervine said with a grin, “It was chaos.”

Now that the project is done, both students said they’ve learned a great deal about producing and publishing books. They’re currently investigating book publishers and other options to get more of the books printed and distributed.

Perhaps most importantly, the women have learned about themselves. Hansen, who’s planning to teach Japanese and possibly art in the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program next year in Japan, said the experience has taught her how to self-motivate. “As an art major, self-motivation is what you have to have,” she said. “You must think of your own project, keep your own schedule and carry it to completion. These books have given me more self-confidence as an artist and have showed me what I’m capable of. Now I know I can do something that’s self-driven.”

For author Ervine, who is planning to teach elementary school, it’s revealed a creative aspect of herself that she never expected. “I didn’t think I was a creative person, but I was able to be creative with the stories,” she said. “I also learned that I absolutely love being in the classroom. Now that’s really fun.”

Willamette Seniors Named 2004-2005 Watson Fellows

Justin Brown and Ellen McGehee are among 50 college seniors to be awarded a 2004-2005 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Watson Fellowships are one-year grants of $22,000 for travel and independent study outside the United States.

The award marks the culmination of an application process that officially began in September 2003, when early 1,000 students from fifty selective private liberal arts colleges and universities applied for their university’s nomination. At Willamette, 20 seniors applied. Participating colleges nominated 184 students to compete nationally. In addition to Justin and Ellen, Jazzmin Reece and Leigh Bernacchi were also among the four nominees chosen to represent Willamette.

“We look for people with the passion and creativity to find solutions, work effectively with people and generally weather the bad days on the road while treasuring the glorious ones,” says Beverly Larson, executive director of the Watson Fellowship Program and a former Watson Fellow. “The awards are long-term bets on people likely to lead or innovate, giving them unusual flexibility to set and pursue their own global agendas.”
Brown, a history major, says he feels “top notch” about receiving a Watson Scholarship. He intends to study local barter networks in England, Thailand, Australia and South Africa. Barter networks, time banks and community currency systems are rapidly growing alternatives to the global economy, emphasizing regional economies and the reinvestment of capital into the community. Brown is interested in evaluating the organization, efficiency and success of these local economies.

“I’m interested in seeing change in the world and creating a more just system,” he says. “The Watson will enable me to travel to four continents and work with people who are trying to make that happen.”

At Willamette, Brown has been active in Willamette Students for Peace and Justice, ECOS and the Environmental Sustainability Task Force. He helped initiate the Goudy Greasecar Project, which aims to turn hundreds of gallons of waste fryer fat into biodiesel fuel and he’s a “quasi-founder” of the Willamette Drum Circle. Originally from Bakersfield, Calif., Brown currently lives in Incline Village, Nev.

Ellen McGehee, who is majoring in physics, says her Watson award hasn’t really “sunk in yet.” I’m extremely excited about it.”

A talented violinist and outdoor enthusiast, McGehee’s project involves her passion, music. She will travel to the Andes, China and the Kyrgyz Republic searching for a common thread in the music of mountain peoples and learning to play their musical instruments. Already well-versed in classical musical traditions, McGehee hopes to learn to play the antara (pan-pipes) in Peru and the piwang, a two-stringed fiddle, in Tibet while hearing the music of the mountains.

“The Watson gives you the resources to actually realize a dream,” she says. “The whole year is open for us to study and learn about ourselves.”

As a participant in the Science Collaborative Research Program, Ellen designed her own project investigating the vibrational modes of violins using holographic inteferometry. In order to undertake the project, she first had to build a vibration isolation system and a specialized laser. She is also an active member of the Poi club and performs fire-spinning at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. Ellen is also involved with the Environmental Sustainable Task Force, and is a physics tutor. She hails from Bellevue, Wash.

The year of travel provides fellows an opportunity to test their aspirations and abilities and develop a more informed sense of international concern. Since 1968, more than 2,200 Watson Fellows have undertaken this challenging journey.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program was begun over 35 years ago by the children of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the founder of IBM Corporation, and his wife, Jeannette K. Watson, to honor their parents’ longstanding interest in education and world affairs.

Willamette Sophomore Wins Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

Natalie Muren, a sophomore chemistry major, has been named a 2004 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The two-year scholarship provides up to $7,500 a year for tuition, books and room and board costs. Muren was one of 310 Goldwater Scholars from a field of 1,113 nominees nationwide selected on the basis of academic merit.

A native of Keizer, Ore., Muren attended McNary High School, where her interest in scientific research earned her second place in her category at the 2001 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, Calif.

Muren says she was “surprised and honored to win the Goldwater. I applied for it more for the experience. I was really surprised to hear I’d won.”

At Willamette, Muren has been working with Professor Sarah Kirk, synthesizing and purifying novel neomycin B-amino acid conjugates, a type of antibiotic, and characterizing them with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. As a participant in the Summer Collaborative Research Program, Muren presented their research results this fall at the Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference in Tacoma, Wash. Her application for the Goldwater involved writing a long essay about her research with the antibiotic and how the work can make a significant contribution to cancer treatment. She also wrote personal essays about her interest in science, her research experience and her career goals.

“Applying for the Goldwater meant I had to write very well defined educational and career goals,” she says. “It required me to investigate graduate programs and the research that is going on at various institutions. In the long run, this investigation into what I really want to do will be much more valuable that the scholarship itself.”

Muren plans to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics. Her career objective is to lead a research team at a major university to find the answers to fundamental questions about the dynamics of transcriptional regulation in coordination with other complex cellular processes, eventually leading to the development of novel treatments for cancer and other diseases.

At Willamette, Natalie runs on the varsity cross country and track teams and is vice president of the Chemistry Club.

Heidt and Meyer Selected for Truman Scholarships

Willamette University Juniors Jennifer Heidt, a politics and sociology major from Boise, Idaho, and Lesley Meyer, a politics major from Missoula, Mont., have been selected as 2004 Truman Scholars. The Truman Scholarship is a $26,000 merit-based federal grant awarded to college juniors to attend graduate or professional school in preparation for careers in government, the non-profit sector or elsewhere in public service.

Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of their community service and demonstrated leadership, academic record and commitment to a career in public service. Meyer and Heidt were selected from among 221 finalists from 146 U.S. colleges and universities who interviewed for approximately 80 Truman Scholarships. Only seven other institutions have more than one Truman Scholar this year. In the last five years, eight Willamette students have been awarded Truman Scholarships.

“Truman Scholars are future change agents, who have the passion, intellect and leadership potential to change the way public entities – from government to nonprofits, schools and advocacy groups – serve the public good,” says Willamette University President Lee Pelton.

The students are co-directors of Students for Choice and both have been active in SHE, an advocacy group that helps bring awareness to issues like rape, domestic violence and eating disorders.

Since her freshman year, Jenn Heidt has been a member of Implementation Squad, which is guiding Willamette's transition to a residential commons system that will incorporate living and learning on campus. She’s on the Outreach and Publicity Committee and is chair of the new student-run judicial board.

Heidt has organized educational programs on reproductive health and serves on Bishop Wellness Center's Health and Counseling Services Advisory Board. She’s an Opening Days leader and World Views tutor and helped coordinate the 2003 Operation Dream program.

“My father died on December 27 of this last year,” Heidt says. “Going through the final stages of the Truman application process without him was difficult. My father was so proud of me for the work I’d put into the application. The support of my mother and stepfather and incredible friends has kept me going. As much as this scholarship is for myself, I have also achieved this in honor of my phenomenal family.”

Heidt has interned with First Lady Patricia Kempthorne in the Idaho Governor's Office, with the Chicago Rehab Network and at the YMCA Outreach Shelter in Salem, Ore. She intends to earn degrees in law and public policy to address issues of healthcare, affordable housing and equal education. She is a G. Herbert Smith Scholar and, in 2003, was awarded a Mary Stuart Rogers Scholarship in recognition of her demonstrated integrity, leadership and compassion for others.

Heidt says the Truman Scholarship will provide the financial support that will allow her to pursue graduate school without concern about accruing a great deal of debt. “In addition, I’ll be able to get to know past Truman Scholars who are incredible change agents and who share my passion for people and my dedication to public service.”

Lesley Meyer, who is currently studying in Linkoping, Sweden, intends to earn graduate degrees in law and public health, focusing on reproductive rights and reproductive health. She flew from Sweden to Denver in March for her Truman interview. “I am in awe about receiving this wonderful honor,” she says. “The application process is just the beginning. In May, all scholars will go to Liberty, Mo. for Truman Scholar Leadership Week where we’ll meet past scholars and learn about future opportunities.”

Meyer is an ASWU senator and member of the Finance Board and has been president of College Democrats and a Resident Assistant. She volunteers for Oregon NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Choice USA and the Feminist Majority Foundation. She is also a member of the Willamette University Chamber Choir and Master Chorus.

Meyer has interned with the Oregon Department of Education and with Montana Senator Max Baucus. She was awarded a Willamette University Vocal Scholarship and was a finalist for the Coca-Cola Scholarship. She says the Truman Scholarship will enable her to pursue a joint degree at a graduate school of her choosing. “Without this scholarship, it would be hard to really follow my heart and help the underprivileged while still managing to pay the debt I’d incur.”

Willamette Senior Alex Dukalskis Wins Fulbright Grant

Senior politics major Alex Dukalskis of Roseburg, Ore. has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to teach English in Korea for a year. The Fulbright covers the cost of travel, room and board with a host family and a stipend of approximately $1,200 a month for 13 months. Created by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program aims to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange.

“I'm really excited,” says Dukalskis. “Because the Fulbright is so competitive, I didn't expect to receive the award. But now that I'm leaving for Korea soon, I'm in awe.”

Students must be nominated by their colleges and universities to compete for this highly prestigious award. Selection for the Fulbright is based on personal essays and students' academic, employment and extracurricular activities.

Dukalskis, who is president of Willamette's Debate Team and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, has won numerous awards for forensics and has volunteered as a debate coach at Silverton High School. He recently won the title of grand champion with his debate partner, Matt Lehman, at an international debate tournament in Eastern Europe.

He is also a Carson Scholar. Last year, Dukalskis used his Carson Grant to investigate the mix of religion and politics at the Oregon Farmworker Ministry in Salem. As chair of the Senior Class Council, he has been responsible for arranging the Senior Social, Senior Service Day and the Senior Gift.

A former member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Dukalskis volunteers with the Easter Seal Children's Guild and at the HOME Youth and Resource Center, acting as a mentor for homeless and at-risk youth.

In July, Dukalskis will leave for Korea, where he and other teaching assistants will receive intensive Korean language training at Kangwon National University in the city of Chuncheon. After that, he'll be teaching English to Korean middle or high school children 30 hours per week.

“This grant will allow me to do so many things that I wouldn't otherwise get to do,” he says. “I get to go to South Korea. I've never been anywhere in Asia. I'm nervously excited and optimistic at the prospect of spending a year there.”

Eventually Dukalskis plans to earn graduate degrees in Human Rights and Political Science, working in international politics and human rights theory. “While the Fulbright means I have to postpone my graduate studies for a year, I'll be doing something that will teach me and help me grow.”

Michael Strelow

A passionate intellectual finds himself at home.

Even after 23 years of teaching at Willamette, American Studies Professor Michael Strelow has no plans to retire – although he does have an exit strategy.

“They are going to have to force me out, and I will go with my boots on,” Strelow says with a smile. “Teaching is the thing I do. It’s the one thing that does not seem like work.”

In fact, when asked how often he finds himself working, Strelow has difficulty answering. “Either I am working all the time, or hardly at all,” he says. “That, I think, is a distinction everyone should have blurred.”

Strelow came to Willamette after two years at the University of Oregon, where he taught American Literature. He says he feels fortunate to be in the midst of so many gifted students at Willamette. “I consider myself lucky,” he says.

Strelow enjoys teaching here so much that few things can keep him away from campus. Even the terrible floods of 1996 couldn’t stop him from making it to work on time. “I found the raging rivers between Willamette and me,” he recalls. “So I hitched a ride on a four-wheeler to get across the water to campus, only to find classes canceled. Instead, students were rallying to sandbag the campus.”

It’s that sense of community Strelow loves so much.

“Students are immediately encouraged by the Willamette culture to do well,” he says. “You should be able to do something here that you can’t do at other places.” Empowering students to explore their interests is important to Strelow, a past Fulbright scholar and a lover of knowledge and opportunity.

Aside from the classroom, the Hatfield Library is his favorite destination. “I love what it stands for,” Strelow says. “I love the availability of knowledge. Classes are extended through it.”

His love for learning seems to be shared by his students, resulting in bonds that have withstood the test of time. Ten, even 15 years after being their instructor, Strelow still hears from former students and has forged a number of close friendships with them.

Strelow has found that the community bonds at Willamette are as strong as his students’ intellectual convictions. As a result, he has found a home here – in a cozy office that he has no plans to leave anytime soon.

Pamela Moro

Cultivating ideas in the classroom.

"I think the secret to my technique is variety,” says anthropology Professor Pam Moro. “If a student can predict how a class is going to unfold, because the instructor always follows the same formula, then that’s not good. You need a certain amount of variety and unpredictability to keep them looking forward to class.”

Moro combats predictability in her classes by making discussion the central vehicle of learning. Everyone shares their opinion in Moro’s classes – including Moro herself. “I’ll share my personal ideas so they know that I’m someone who has values. I may have more knowledge and can contextualize some intellectual debates better than they can, but I’m not always the authority with the right answer. The important thing is not our particular views on an issue, but rather, the fact that we have them.”

All of that close, personal contact with students greatly appeals to Moro because she gets to play a unique role in their cognitive and critical development. “Every year I see a student and I think, ‘Oh wow, that’s someone that I knew as a freshman and look at them now. They know how to work. They’re insightful. They’re critical. They’re creative. Their writing has improved and I can see that.’ I know that wouldn’t happen, or would rarely happen, at a larger institution.”

Those critical qualities become particularly apparent in students who participate in study abroad experiences. “It’s such an incredible growing up experience,” says Moro, recalling how her own travels to Southeast Asia to study Thai music traditions have shaped her world perspective. “I can’t look at a day of life here without also remembering how it’s different in some other places. When I see our students embarking on that journey, it’s important to me and it makes me feel closer to them.”

Another special advantage Willamette offers students is the chance to really get to know and interact with all of the peers in their field. “By the time they’re in the more advanced anthropology classes, they know each other and they’ve had other classes together. They’re constantly taking ideas and inspiration from one class to the other. They’re a peer group who goes through the learning process together, and that’s just great from the instructor’s side.”

But probably the biggest reason why Willamette students get along so well with their classmates, notes Moro, is they see professors engaging in productive, collegial relationships with their colleagues. “I think the faculty here work really well together, and we model that professionalism constantly for our students.”

That is a pattern Moro does not mind following.

Ellen Eisenberg

Helping students make history.

I think that a lot of people imagine historians sitting at their desks, memorizing lists of names and dates,” says history Professor Ellen Eisenberg. “What I try to do is get students to experience what historians do.”

Recently named the Dwight & Margaret Lear Chair of American History, Eisenberg has spent the last 14 years not only teaching students history but teaching them how history is made. “It’s making history come alive and making the act of being a historian come alive. How do historians put research together to construct a picture of what happened? How does their interpretation fit with what their colleagues are arguing?”

Eisenberg takes this approach because she says many students come to college with their heads full of historical facts but little critical understanding for how those facts are created. “For a lot of students, their experience in high school is that they have a textbook and the textbook says what happened and that’s it. They don’t think of that textbook as a document that represents one of a number of different interpretations. I want them to see a text as an argument, and then take it apart and discuss it among themselves.”

Students learn firsthand what it takes to be a historian by conducting research that involves unearthing and analyzing original documents. Emphasizing original research, says Eisenberg, invests a student’s analysis with a greater sense of ownership and originality. “Sometimes students think a topic has been so thoroughly analyzed that they assume, ‘What else can I say?’ Then our students go over to places like the State Archives and find original documents that, as far as we know, nobody else has written about. Suddenly they realize, ‘Wow, it is possible to make an original discovery and uncover some new insight.’”

Willamette’s liberal arts environment also gives Eisenberg the intellectual freedom to develop some insights of her own. “If I decide that I’m interested in some new issue, there’s absolutely nothing to stop me from either developing that as a research project or developing it as a course. At a lot of larger schools, I might be one of 20 American historians and they all have their territory, which they research very deeply, but there’s a lot less breadth. Here, I am one of two Americanists, so I really can focus on whatever I want.”

For example, Eisenberg’s recent interests have ranged from African-American studies to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. Both of these topics were originally part of broader general history courses, but Eisenberg has developed each into its own distinct class. “You can never really get bored, or if you do you only have yourself to blame,” she says. “There are very few jobs in which you have the freedom to say, “Oh, I’m interested in this now, so I’ll pursue it.”

Whatever she chooses to pursue next, Eisenberg clearly believes that the study of history is far from a desk job.

Peter Eilers

Earth sciences professor knows what makes for a rock-solid education.

There’s no doubt about it: Earth sciences Professor Peter Eilers has gone to great depths to master his field of study. And after 21 years at Willamette, his enthusiasm for teaching is deeper than ever. “Being an educator,” says Eilers, “is being excited about the topic and wanting to share it.”

His students are just as eager to share their excitement with him – and sometimes their enthusiasm extends beyond the realm of earth sciences. “I had a student who’d lost a bet to one of his friends,” recalls Eilers. “He had to come to class and pie me in the face. Luckily, it only got part of my face – and I was able to put part of it back in his face.”

Eilers’ interactions with students have been enjoyable from the moment he set foot on campus. He still likes to talk about the student who told him he was a good instructor after his first day of teaching at Willamette. “I felt welcome,” recalls Eilers. “I like the atmosphere here.”

Eilers says Willamette’s commitment to a 10-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio has allowed him to develop relationships with students that go well beyond the surface. He’s convinced that small classes are nothing less than critical to the learning process.

“You can be more spontaneous, and you can be much more personal,” says Eilers, who taught at two large state universities before coming to Willamette. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know students. They’re a great group of folks.”

The appreciation he has for his students involves more than just sharing an occasional cream pie. For a long time, Eilers held a contest in which students had to guess the age of trees before core samples were taken. The winner came away with a gift certificate to a restaurant.

But it’s not just the students Eilers appreciates. The faculty, the facilities and the freedoms that professors have at Willamette are constant sources of comfort for Eilers. “We’re not so bound by tradition here,” he says. “We’re not so big that we can’t still experiment and innovate.”

Eilers believes that students need to view education as an opportunity to expand their minds, challenge values and get to know the world. The field of earth sciences offers numerous opportunities for students to do just that, he says.

Given his field of study, Eilers expects students to go beyond the classroom to maximize their learning experiences. And when he’s exploring the wonders of nature, you won’t find him limiting his activities to the classroom, either.

After all, it’s a big world out there.

Jean-David Coen

In perfect harmony with his students.

Jean-David Coen can play sonatas and concertos to packed venues without breaking a sweat. Yet when the professor of music and renowned pianist first began teaching classes at Willamette, he could not avoid a twinge or two of stage fright. “Every class used to feel like a performance,” he remembers.

This admission says a great deal about the importance Coen attaches to his teaching. Like every great performer, however, he always rises to the occasion. “I’m in love with the material so that makes it easy. A liberal arts college is a wonderful place to explore music. Making all of the cultural connections and the connections with intellectual history is very important to me.”

So is helping students to cultivate their critical faculties and use them instinctively. That skill, says Coen, is as essential to good performance as it is to good scholarship. “Whatever piece you perform, the pianistic and technical demands are always going to be there. However, ones understanding of style; the analysis of the piece; your ability to take it apart and peel away the layers of meaning; and heart – all of those things are necessary for a good interpretation.”

As a board member and instructor with the Aspen Music Festival, one of the world’s premiere music festivals, Coen also gives Willamette students access to one-of-a-kind musical opportunities. Many summers he has brought Willamette students with him to train alongside elite musicians from every corner of the globe. In addition, Coen uses his connections with Aspen to bring renowned artists to Willamette’s campus. This March, Coen invited Chinese pianist Yujia Wang, whom he calls “one of the most outstanding young artists I’ve ever heard.”

For all of his contributions to music, Coen continues to be most sought after for his abilities as a teacher. An Aspen Festival colleague, John Perry – considered by many to be one of the world’s top piano instructors – recently asked Coen to teach his studio of 25 graduate and undergraduate piano students at the University of Southern California (USC) for a semester. Perry’s course is among the most competitive in the United States and the students Coen will teach are some of the most promising in the world.

Whatever level of student he works with, Coen believes that great teaching comes from understanding where each student is in their learning process and how much direction they need. Coen notes that this method of teaching, which has been practiced by music instructors for centuries, has never gone out of fashion. “In the training of artists, we have been doing for generations what modern educators want to do now, which is teachers modeling for their students. That’s what great teachers have always done with great students.”