Topic: Student
Student earns scholarship for commitment to global engagement
Senior Mahmood Khan’s insights on the value of international education earned him first place in the LewerMark “Make Your Mark” scholarship program.
Khan, a computer science and mathematics major, was born in Afghanistan, but he moved to Pakistan with his family in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet-backed regime. In his scholarship entry, Khan described the experience of living as a refugee and observing his parents break down barriers between the Afghan and Pakistani communities through education.
Khan’s devotion to education inspired him to study languages and computers, and eventually earned him a position with Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian aid organization based in Portland. After traveling widely as a field system administrator for Mercy Corps, Khan decided to pursue a college education.
At Lewis & Clark, Khan has continued his study of technology, while still working part-time for Mercy Corps.
“Because of his extensive international education, talents and skills, life experiences, international perspectives, and passionate commitment to help others, Mahmood will most certainly make a difference in our world,” said Carolyn Locke, administrative coordinator for the International Students and Scholars Office and Khan’s sponsor for the scholarship competition.
Khan plans to pursue a post-graduate degree in computer science and mathematics, with the ultimate goal of integrating his studies and his relief work to increase awareness of global humanitarian need.
“I believe that my study in those fields will help me prepare for my goal of teaching and promoting the use of technology in poor countries in more creative and affordable ways,” he wrote. “I hope that one day I will be able to use technology to make more people aware of the extreme hardships that exist in our world and also to make it more accessible and easier for those willing to help to reach those in need.”
Alum earns Pulitzer nomination
Alum Matt Wuerker ‘79 was one of three finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Wuerker, a political cartoonist and illustrator for the Politico, has appeared in numerous newspapers statewide for the past 25 years. On his natural attraction to political cartoons, Wuerker said, “It’s a small niche, this place where political opinion and art get to mix in the editorial pages of the nation’s newspapers. Where else do you get to be a combination of Dr. Seuss and Noam Chomsky?”
Professor, alum earn top honor for collaborative research
Political science professor Todd Lochner and Rhett Tatum ‘06, along with fellow researcher and political scientist Dorie Apollonio, were recognized by the editorial board of Regulation & Governance for their joint article, Wheat from Chaff: Third Party Monitoring and FEC Enforcement Actions.
Regulation & Governance, a journal devoted to the study of regulation and governance by political scientists, lawyers, historians, anthropologists, and economists, named Wheat from Chaff the best article published in the 2007-2008 volumes of the journal.
In their article, Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum test the widely held expectation that regulators can more effectively target serious violations when they have a broader array of sanctioning options in their enforcement arsenal. To test this theoretical expectation, Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum analyze enforcement actions at the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) during the period when the FEC received an expansion in its sanctioning options. What they find runs counter to expectations: the FEC was not better able to focus on the most serious violations after receiving a broader array of sanctions. Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum suggest that simply expanding sanctioning options, without also expanding monitoring resources, is not sufficient to enable regulators to prioritize their enforcement efforts toward the most serious problems.
Todd Lochner teaches undergraduate courses in constitutional law, civil liberties, and political science. He also teaches a joint undergraduate-law school course on election law at Lewis & Clark Law School, where he is a research fellow. Rhett Tatum is currently a student at the Georgetown University Law Center where he is studying election law.
Two Overseas Juniors head to Strasbourg to discuss Obama’s presidency
Parasa Chanramy (’10) and Jeanette Valleau (’10) were among over 60 students and speakers from North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, who gathered recently for a three-day conference in Strasbourg, France, to discuss whether or not President Obama would make a difference in US - European relations. Chanramy and Valleau have been studying with the Foundation for International Education (FIE) in London and were awarded fellowships from FIE and Lewis & Clark to attend the conference.
Following the Opening Plenary Lecture by Dr. Stephen Ryan, of the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, on the topic “Will Illusion Breed Disillusion? Obama, Europe and Global Politics,” students participated in discussions on the future of US foreign policy, the new president’s challenges in the Middle East, and the impact President Obama might have on NATO as it celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding.
Lewis & Clark Overseas and Off Campus Programs aim to enhance on-campus curricula and provide unique academic and experiential opportunities abroad. With programs in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America, these overseas opportunities send over 260 students abroad annually. To learn more about Lewis & Clark Overseas and Off Campus Programs, click here.
Law alum advocates on behalf of low-income community
As Director of the Washington Attorney General’s Public Counsel Division, Lewis & Clark Law School alum Simon ffitch believes that heat and light are essential services for people, whether or not they are behind on their bills. ffitch’s dedication to working on behalf of people from low-income communities, including a recent appeal to a request by a local utility company to raise customers’ taxes, earned him some media attention. “We think it’s important, especially during this economy, that there’s not one extra penny taken from people’s budgets,” ffitch said.
ffitch is not alone in his commitment to public service as a professional career. More than one out of every three graduates of Lewis & Clark Law School chooses to work in the area of public interest law.
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Simon ffitch acts as ratepayers’ representative
Law student receives scholarship from NorthWest Indian Bar Association
Lewis & Clark Law School student Michelle Watchman is one of 13 law students to receive a scholarship from the NorthWest Indian Bar Association. NIBA is a non-profit organization aiming to represent the education and welfare of Native American attorneys. Watchman, a member of the Tlingit and Navajo tribes, said that law school would not have been possible without the scholarship assistance from her tribe and NIBA.
“The impacts of this scholarship extend beyond myself and my educational personal educational pursuit,” Watchman said. “The impacts will be felt by my people and the Native community at large. Upon graduation, I hope to not only give back to my community but also inspire future generations of Native youth to pursue their educational dreams.”
Read more about Watchman and her involvement in Native American law.
Alum to speak on cyborg anthropology
In May, Amber Case ‘08 will present “An Introduction to Cyborg Anthropology” at WebVisions 2009, an annual conference on the future of technology, web design, social media and new commerce in the Northwest. Case will explore data visualization and marketing in the online ecosystem during her session on May 22. Since graduating last year, Case founded CyborgCamp, a self-described “unconference” on the future of humans and technology, and keeps a blog at Nerdabout.com.
Case believes that new social roles have developed due to our use of technology. “How we interact with machines and technology in many ways defines who we are,” she said. “Cyborg Anthropology is a lens with which to understand what’s happening to us in a world mediated by dynamic objects, processes and change.”
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