Topic: Faculty
Greg Smith awarded environmental education grant
Greg Smith, professor of teacher education:
Smith has received a $19,380 grant from the Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to train teachers in the West Linn School District on environmental issues. The Environmental Education Program seeks to encourage a strong local land ethic, sustainable communities, and stewardship of the natural environment by citizens throughout Oregon. The Fund is committed long term to institutionalizing a series of age-appropriate experiences that build a sense of place and responsibility towards Oregon and the region.
The Sustainability Education Initiative is a program of professional development coursework and activities for K-12 teachers in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. During three courses offered in 2009, Smith will prepare 50-60 teachers to incorporate sustainability issues into their classrooms and help them implement school or community projects that will enhance local natural and social environments. Participants will be eligible for small seed grants to fund start-up projects. The grant aims to increase the number of teachers implementing sustainability projects in schools, and increase student and educator awareness of local natural systems, ecologies, and social needs.
Assistant Professor Jeffrey Jones argues for “New Economic Covenant”
While the federal government and economic experts focus their attention and resources on the corporate sector, Jeffrey Jones, assistant professor of law and author of The Unaffordable Nation: Searching for a Decent Life in America, argues in this opinion piece that U.S. workers should not be left out of economic stimulus plans.
“Much has been made about bailing out American corporations and whether government has done enough to help American workers,” Jones writes. “The interests are not opposed. Restoring our economy requires policies that promote good employment.”
The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) A New Economic Covenant
Poetry professor wins NEA grant for creative writing
Mary Szybist, assistant professor of English, received a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literature Fellowship in creative writing this month. The highly competitive fellowships of $25,000 each are given to published creative writers of exceptional talent, encouraging the production of new work and allowing writers the time and means to write. One of the foremost awards in the literary field, the NEA grant will support Szybist’s work on her second book of poems, tentatively titled Incarnadine.
“A grant like this is a boost of adrenaline to the writing process,” said Szybist. “As I’ve worked on my current manuscript for the last few years, I have cycled through periods of faith and doubt, both about the poems and the project as a whole. To have the NEA select my work for this distinction is a great gift of validation, and I am eager to return to my manuscript with a renewed sense of vigor and excitement.”
Szybist’s poetry has appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review, The Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, Tin House, and Best American Poetry 2008. Her first book, Granted, was named one of the top ten books of poetry in 2003 by Library Journal. Also that year, Szybist was a finalist for the National Book Circle Critic’s Award in Poetry.
Assistant Professor Andraé Brown contributes chapter to “The Black Male Handbook”
Andraé Brown, assistant professor of counseling psychology:
Brown recently appeared on a panel introducing “The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life,” a collection of essays about the political and social climate in the black community. This book tells the stories of black males from the hip-hop generation and tackles issues on surviving and living in today’s world. Brown’s chapter is titled “Moving Toward Mental Wellness,” and he will be hosting a seminar in February based on the work.
Brown’s “Moving Toward Mental Wellness” opens with a personal story about his father’s recovery from his fourth heart attack in ten years. Brown writes, “My father’s fight was not against flesh and blood but against the dark forces of the world. New combatants emerged daily, whether racism, sexism, corruption, police brutality[…]and he battled them all with great vigilance.”
Associate Professor Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell named Professor of the Year
Associate Professor of Psychology Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell has been named the Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year Award by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The CASE/Carnegie prize is the only national award for excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
Detweiler-Bedell, who joined the psychology faculty in 2001, immerses students in interactive and challenging lessons starting in their first psychology course. Students in her Introduction to Psychology class, for example, handle a human brain and imagine themselves as subjects in classic psychology experiments. More advanced students in her Clinical Psychology course assume the roles of therapist and patient as they learn to solve realistic problems. “CASE and the Carnegie Foundation saw in Jerusha what we also see in her: an inspiring and very talented teacher whose pedagogical approach in the classroom and laboratory is informed by excellent scholarship,” said Julio de Paula, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, of the award.
For additional details about Detweiler-Bedell’s award, including her acceptance speech, visit this Lewis & Clark site.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, D.C.) 4 Faculty Members Are Honored as U.S. Professors of the Year
Inside Higher Ed (Washington, D.C.) Top Profs
USA Today (McLean, Va.) 2008 Professors of the Year prepare students for lifelong learning
The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Lewis & Clark professor wins national educator honor
Media Alert: OPB documentary featuring Mitch Reyes premieres November 17
The Lewis & Clark Expedition was a pivotal moment in American history. But the story of York, a slave to William Clark and comrade on this journey, has been obscured by omission and stereotype. “Searching for York,” a film produced for Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Oregon Experience, paints a portrait of this unofficial member of the Corps of Discovery as it discusses the ways in which history is written.
Assistant Professor of Communication Mitch Reyes contributes his expertise in the field of public memory to the program.
The documentary debuts on OPB on November 17th at 9:00 p.m. “Searching for York” will be re-broadcast on Wednesday the 19th at 3:00 a.m. and Sunday the 23rd at 1:00 p.m.
Professor of Economics Eban Goodstein prepares for new climate-change teach-in
Professor of Economics Eban Goodstein is working to create another global warming teach-in, called the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions, on February 5. Goodstein organized Focus the Nation, a nationwide dialog about climate change, last January; his new project will concentrate on the climate change policies put in place within President-Elect Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office. Goodstein is optimistic that this project will draw large crowds the way Focus the Nation did, which included 1,900 participating colleges and groups. “This is a time for young people to engage with political leaders in Washington and basically spend a day learning, and take that learning to decision makers,” said Goodstein.

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