Leading animal law experts will convene at the 16th annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark Law School on Oct. 17-19 to explore the interconnections between domestic and international animal law and a broad array of issues such as religion, farming, environmentalism, and homeland security. The conference, titled One Earth: Globalism & Animal Law, has sold out with more than 200 lawyers, law students and animal advocates registered to attend from across the United States, Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong.

“Animal law intersects with many different fields of law, and our conference offerings have grown over these many years to reflect that,” said Pamela Frasch, executive director of Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies, one of the conference organizers. “As this specialty takes root, experts from fields as diverse as environmental law and immigration law recognize the need to pay greater attention to animal law both in a domestic and international setting.”

Joyce Tischler will deliver the keynote address on Oct. 18, offering a perspective of the past, present, and future trends in animal law. She is the co-founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit law organization that works to advance animals’ interests through the legal system and a sponsor of the conference.

Other speaker highlights include:
•    Dr. Paul Waldau, director, Center for Public Policy and Animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
•    Steven Wise, author and founder/director of the Center for Expansion of Fundamental Rights
•    Peter Sankoff, professor of law, University of Auckland, New Zealand
•    Kathy Hessler, clinical professor of law, Lewis & Clark Law School

Megan Lemire, Lewis & Clark law student and conference organizer representing co-host Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said the conference offers formal and informal opportunities for experts and practitioners to share ideas and strengthen the growing network among professionals in the field.

“This conference is the oldest animal law conference in the world, so it has come to represent the who’s who of animal law experts and advocates,” Lemire said. “Whether you are just starting your career in animal advocacy or are a veteran of animal law, this is a unique opportunity to learn, network, and find innovative approaches in a quickly evolving area of the law.”

Visit the Center for Animal Law Studies for a schedule of events, waitlist registration information and downloadable podcasts after the conference.

As importantly, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling recognizes a need to develop cultural competency in its education and training of future counselors to meet the needs of Muslim communities in the United States.

To expand these efforts, Lewis & Clark has developed a partnership with faculty at Menoufiya University (MU) in Shebin El-Kom, Egypt, to help them build a marriage and family therapy program there. By taking a collaborative approach,  Lewis & Clark faculty and students will learn from the expertise of MU’s faculty, and enhance their own cultural competency education at home.

“This is a win-win situation for both communities,” said Professor of Counseling Psychology Teresa McDowell. “By working on an international scale we are improving our students’ abilities to effectively meet the needs of an increasingly diverse community while also providing greater access to family therapy in a culturally appropriate way to an entire community of people.”

McDowell first made a connection with MU’s psychology faculty in 2006, while working on a Women in Development project at the University of Connecticut. Upon McDowell’s arrival at Lewis & Clark, in 2007, she arranged for eight graduate students in the Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy (MCFT) program to travel to MU for a series of intensive learning experiences in and out of the classroom.

McDowell hosted MU faculty member Adel Haridy, Ph.D., to work on the collaboration and Hanan Hosny, Ph.D.,  to teach an MCFT class at Lewis & Clark. In September, Hosny made a second trip to Lewis & Clark and presented a public lecture titled, “Understanding Islam.”

“We’re sharing therapy concepts that are brand new in the United States, while learning from the family practices in the oldest civilization on earth,” McDowell said. “By way of an exchange program for students and faculty, we are hoping to learn from indigenous practices in Egypt, and our Egyptian colleagues will be transferring the components of family therapy that fit for them with their culture.”

Joining McDowell in her efforts to establish the MU family therapy program is Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology Dr. Andrae Brown. Brown, who specializes in liberation-oriented therapies, will be reaching out to local Muslim leaders to find ways that Lewis & Clark can support Portland’s Muslim community.

“As we build the MU family therapy program in Egypt, we are also building a local network,” Brown said. “With online discussions, symposia, and workshops, we can create a brain trust of cultural consultants through our collaboration with local Muslim leaders.”

McDowell and Brown submitted the family therapy program grant proposal to MU in August of this year, and it is currently under review by the Egyptian government. Once approved, Lewis & Clark will begin fundraising efforts to launch the program.

Click to view photographs

“Our exhibitions typically focus on a major, singular collection of books,” said Doug Erickson, director of Special Collections. “The current exhibit is an opportunity to highlight individual items that haven’t been displayed before, while sharing a snapshot of our holdings that represent diverse styles and periods.”

Among the most unique items in the collection are the first book with an embossed cover, volume 2 of Byron’s Works (London, 1832), and a limited edition of Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love (Portland, 1989) that features hand-painted endpapers and a cover design that stands out in relief.

The exhibition will be on display in Watzek Library Atrium until December 19. As part of Lewis & Clark’s Alumni Weekend, the library staff will curate the exhibition on Saturday, October 4 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Environmental studies researchers at Lewis & Clark believe the possibility of such connections is worth closer examination. They are conducting focus groups with Oregonians from urban, suburban, rural and intentional communities to ask them to define their connection to nature and how it affects them personally. The research title, Ecotopia Revisited, plays on the 1975 novel Ecotopia, which portrays a future ecologically sustainable society located in the Pacific Northwest.

“Most utopian and dystopian discourse points outward to the worlds it describes—in the ecological realm, for instance, the dream of a sustainable society and the nightmare of global warming typically emphasize how to achieve sustainability, how to stop global warming,” writes Jim Proctor, research lead and director of environmental studies. “Yet the key question we ask in Ecotopia Revisited is: what do our contemporary utopias and dystopias tell us about ourselves?”

Along with Proctor, postdoctoral fellow Evan Berry and CAS ‘08 graduates Meagan Nuss and Amber Shasky are blogging about their discoveries and insights as they talk with Oregonians.

National Coming Out events are designed to promote public awareness of issues that affect people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ).  Events have traditionally been aimed at the LGBTQ community, but Adams points out that those who identify as straight have an important role to play as advocates for equality.

Adams pointed out that polls show the current generation of high school and college aged Americans is more supportive of equality than any generation ever—from hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples to workplace fairness.

“Achieving full equality will take action and support from non-gay allies,” said Adams, the first openly gay candidate to be elected mayor of a major U.S. city. “Like LGBTQ people, allies will find that coming out is not a one-time event, but rather a lifelong journey.”

The mayor-elect’s talk is part of a week-long series of National Coming Out events being organized by the Lewis & Clark student organization United Sexualities. The organization’s leaders say having Adams participate in these events reinforces the significance of this national celebration and sends a strong message that the LGBTQ community has been eager to make clear—discrimination and inequality affects all citizens.

Whitney Ellis, a United Sexualities leader and senior majoring in international affairs, said that while Portland and Lewis & Clark are widely seen as inclusive and supportive of diversity, there is more work to be done to create an equitable society.

“We hope that all staff, faculty, and students at Lewis & Clark, and the wider Portland community, will see National Coming Out events as a time to come together to explore how these issues affect all of us,” Ellis said.

Adams will speak on October 7 at 7 p.m. in Agnes Flanagan Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. Adams’ address, Gay and Straight Coming Out Together, is co-sponsored by the Gender Studies Department and United Sexualities and supported by the Office of the President and Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Convocation kicks off the academic year for the Graduate School of Education and Counseling and its Core Program—a requirement for full-time master’s degree students that brings together faculty and students from teacher education and counseling psychology to reflect on the shared values of each discipline. Through the Core Program, students receive support from the entire graduate school faculty and build an interdisciplinary foundation among their professional peers.

During the first hour of Convocation, faculty from each graduate school program recounted stories about ways that their core values have impacted their own professional lives. The day also included a formal welcome of the graduate school’s new dean, Scott Fletcher, followed by small group discussions and a wine and cheese reception.

“We look forward to Convocation as a time to connect across programs and to reflect on the shared values of each of our disciplines,” said Fletcher. “There is value in all of our experiences both individually, and collectively. The collaboration among educators, counselors, and psychologists is part of our dedication to the communities we serve.”

This year’s Convocation theme focused on faculty articles that touch on the values of the graduate school’s motto: creativity, compassion, and commitment. Faculty writings span from such topics as “Fulfilling the Promise of Educational Accountability,” by Associate Professor of Educational Leadership Marla McGhee, to “Coming Out and Being Out as Activism: Challenges and Opportunities for Mental Health Professionals in Red and Blue States,” by Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology Amy Rees-Turyn.

The following photo slideshow features images from the 2008 Convocation.

Click to view photographs

“Lewis & Clark Law School’s partnership with the CDLC to create this practicum is unique throughout the nation,” said Lisa LeSage, Associate Dean and Director, Business Law Programs. “No other law school has such a partnership which is mutually beneficial for the community and our students. Community nonprofits benefit from the provision of free, much-needed legal services and law students gain practical, hands-on experience in transactional law that they would not otherwise receive.”

Under the direction of experienced and highly skilled attorneys, students assist clients with a multitude of business transactions, including financing, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, land use, tax, human resources and general corporate legal issues.. Students have the opportunity to participate in client meetings, corporate board meetings, and in drafting business and legal documents.

Since its inception in 2000, the CDLC has assisted in the development of nearly 3,000 units of affordable housing and nine community facilities, and provided training to over 750 board and staff members of community-based organizations. By doubling the number of nonprofits and community development corporations the CDLC can serve, the legal clinic conservatively projects that this grant will benefit 18,000 individuals over the next three years.

About the Collins Foundation
The Collins Foundation, an independent private foundation, was created by Truman W. Collins and other members of the family of E. S. Collins. The foundation exists to give greater expression to humanitarian endeavors in the state of Oregon and to assist in improving the quality of life for Oregonians.

This fall, Finke will stand in front of her first real classroom as a Teach for America (TFA) teacher, tasked with significantly boosting student achievement as part of a national initiative to overcome education gaps in some of the country’s most underserved schools.

One of 12 Lewis & Clark students accepted to the highly competitive program this year, Finke is part of a growing group of alumni from the nation’s most prestigious institutions bringing myriad majors and backgrounds into classrooms and devoting two years of service to TFA. Though not all TFA corps members plan on a career in education, all are devoted to helping students make considerable gains.

“It’s always in the back of your mind at Lewis & Clark that you want to do something really meaningful,” Finke said. “Now I feel like, for once, I’m really doing something. I’m contributing to something and making a difference in my students’ lives.”

A sociology/anthropology major from Golden, Colorado, Finke excelled in student government at Lewis & Clark and weighed potential careers in the nonprofit sector after graduation. Though she says a career in education has been in the back of her mind her whole life, TFA’s two-year commitment will give her time and experience to make informed decisions about her future.

“For me, Teach for America will be a trial run, a time when I can figure out whether the classroom is a good fit, or whether I might be better suited for education administration or a different field entirely,” Finke said. “While I’m learning if education is right for me, I’ll be working for Teach for America and doing something really important. The closer I have gotten to the first day of school, the more I’ve felt that I’m exactly where I need to be.”

Lewis & Clark shines amid national trend

Competition for TFA placements has grown rapidly in recent years. The program, which began in 1990, has steadily gained popularity with graduating seniors from elite colleges across the country; this year, TFA received more than 25,000 applications for 3,700 positions, as roughly 10 percent of the graduating classes at institutions like Lewis & Clark, Yale, and Harvard vied for placements in some of the neediest schools across America.

With an acceptance rate nearly double the national average this year, Lewis & Clark has grown a network of TFA corps members that reaches into the upper levels of the organization’s administration. In the past five years, 36 alumni have been accepted to TFA, with nearly 30 percent of applicants accepted this year, compared to 15 percent nationally.

Minda Heyman, director of the Center for Career and Community Engagement, considers the ambitious mission of TFA a natural fit for Lewis & Clark alumni.

“It’s in the DNA here,” she said. “Lewis & Clark students want to make a difference and want to help solve the problems they see in the world. Many students see Teach for America as a clear way to do that, but we also know many students head into AmeriCorps or Peace Corps, or another career in the public interest.”

Why Teach for America?

Given the intense competition for positions, Teach for America corps members must have a balance of qualifications and interests and must complete a rigorous application and interview process, during which they present model curricula and talk at length about how they plan to transfer skills from their undergraduate education into the classroom.

For Finke, whose parents are both teachers, the decision to join Teach for America felt like a culmination of her upbringing and her experiences at Lewis & Clark. This month, as she takes her post in a third-grade classroom in Denver, Colorado, Finke feels optimistic about the work she has ahead of her.

“It was because of everything I learned at Lewis & Clark that I knew I wanted to do this,” Finke said. “In a lot of ways, the Teach for America mission feels like an extension of the Lewis & Clark experience,” she said. “You’re working hard, seeking a goal, and committed to making a difference.”

As she begins this new pursuit, Finke hopes to contribute to her students’ academic lives and perhaps learn a bit more about herself.

“At this point, I’m not sure what’ll come after Teach for America,” she said. “But I have a suspicion that once I’m in education, I won’t be able to leave it.”

Heyman says that’s just how TFA is supposed to work.

“TFA believes that even if corps members choose to leave the field of education after their two-year stint, they’ll remain committed to issues of educational equality—no matter what career they end up in.”

Other Lewis & Clark alumni accepted into the TFA corps this year:

Sarah Ballard-Hanson, Anna Bondarenko, Jennifer Bradley, Sarah DiSabatino, Chris Estrella, Eric Franz, Ashlee Hill, Evan Perkiss, Kate Phillips, Puja Rao, Frances Wells

Toward that goal, Beck spent her summer researching legal cases for the Oregon Law Center (OLC), an organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income individuals and families.

Beck’s summer internship with the OLC was made possible by a $4,500 stipend from the law school’s Public Interest Law Project, known as PILP. Through the summer program, students gain valuable experience while providing public interest organizations with much-needed legal assistance. In addition to supporting summer projects, PILP funds are also allocated to the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which helps public interest lawyers repay law school loans after graduation.

This summer, 18 Lewis & Clark law students were awarded stipends to work with organizations such as Mercy Corps, EarthJustice, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, and Trustees for Alaska.

In this video, Beck talks about her work with OLC, a visit to Dignity Village, and her commitment to public interest work.

Lewis & Clark Law School graduates enter public interest careers at a rate that is more than three times the national average. Combining graduates who enter government work, and public interest graduates, more than one third of Lewis & Clark Law School’s graduates entered public service careers.

The students, Casey Nelson CAS ’08, James Cotton CAS ‘08 and sophomores Betto van Waarden and Claire Battaglia, are hard at work, improving the Criamar facilities and establishing community programs with help from UNICEF. As they help Criamar residents counteract the effects of neglect and abuse and become peaceful contributors to society, they will share stories and photos on their blog Cultivating Peace.

In this most recent dispatch, Cotton describes the arduous process of renovating the Criamar playground. The former site of an open sewer trench, crumbling concrete, and generally unsafe conditions, the playground has undergone substantial changes at the persistent hands of the peace group.

Read about their progress and see pictures on their blog.