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An Update from the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences |
October 2012 |
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Contents
Dean�s Search Committee Elected
Focusing on the Facts Class of 2016 Snapshot Confessions of a Professional Political Junkie Signature Shakespeare Program Expanded A Perspective on Gov�t Regulations Crandall Solves Oceanic Mystery Writing Program Receives Top Recognition Alumni Weekend Draws Record Crowd Alumni Gift Establishes History Scholarship In Memoriam: Robert G. Jones Awards and Recognition Selected Published Works  Fan us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Upcoming Events The Kylan Jones-Huffman Lecture: Karen Barkey Oct. 11, 4:00 pm Marvin Center, Room 301 Leading in a Time of Uncertainty Oct. 11, 5:00 pm Jack Morton Auditorium The Innovation Imperative for Government Oct. 11, 5:00 pm Jack Morton Auditorium Fourth Annual Distinguished Designer Lecture: Paola Antonelli Oct. 11, 6:30 pm Funger Hall, Room 103 What Greek Religion Contributed to Greek (and Our) Culture Oct. 11, 6:30 pm 1957 E Street, Room B12 European Politics Speaker Series: Matthew Wright Oct. 12, Noon 1957 E Street, Suite 412 Chemistry Seminars Oct. 12, 19, 26, 3:00 pm Corcoran Hall, Room 101 Generations: A Century of Modern Korean Literature Oct. 13, 8:30 am 1957 E Street NW, Room 213 American Chemical Society on Campus Oct. 15-16 Marvin Center Grand Ballroom Communications Expo Oct. 18, 3:30 pm Marvin Center Ballrooms Technology, Innovation, and the 2012 Election Oct. 18, 6:00 pm Media and Public Affairs Building, Room B07 Almost Maine Oct. 18, 19, 20, 7:30 pm, Oct. 21, 2:00 Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre Comparative Politics Workshop: Jeffrey Paige Oct. 19, 12:30 pm Hall of Government, Room 428 Mathematics and Presidential Campaigns Oct. 19, 1:00 pm Moot Courtroom, 2000 H St. Security Policy Workshop: Greg Koblentz Oct. 22, 4:00 pm 1957 E Street, Suite 605 History Department Majors Fair Oct. 22, 7:30 pm Phillips Hall, Rooms 328 &3 29 Enrique Vila-Matas Lecture Oct. 24, 5:00 pm Marvin Center, Room 311 2012 Elton Lecture Oct. 26, 4:00 pm Phillips Hall, Room 411 Sweeny Todd Nov. 1, 2, & 3, 7:30 pm, Nov. 4, 2:00 pm Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre Prose and Poetry from the Portuguese-Speaking World Nov. 2, 10:00 am Alumni House PostClassical Book Club - Meet Solomon Volkov Nov. 3, 11:30 am Phillips Hall, B120 Transit: Readings and Conversation with Abdourahman Waberi and Translators Nicole and David Ball Nov. 9, Noon Marvin Center, Room 311 GW Symphonic Band & Wind Ensemble: From the Podium Nov. 11, 3:00 pm Lisner Auditorium Security Policy Workshop: Jessica Chen Weiss & John Ciociari Nov. 12, 4:00 pm 1957 E Street, Suite 605 Alumni Events GW Culture Buffs: The Marian Koshland Science Museum Oct. 11, 6:00 pm Washington, DC GW LinkedIn Group Virtual Networking Hour Oct. 18, Noon Online Annual Reception with President Knapp Oct. 23, 6:00 pm New York City GW Culture Buffs: GW MainStage Production of Sweeney Todd Nov. 2, 6:00 pm Alumni House Does the Age Difference Between Spouses Affect Their Wages? Nov. 8, 6:00 pm Washington, DC Alumni Networking Night Nov. 13, 6:00 pm Marvin Center Amphitheater Department News Art Therapy Anthropology East Asian Languages and Literatures Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Music English Fine Arts and Art History Forensic Sciences Geography History Philosophy Judaic Studies Math Media and Public Affairs Medieval and Early Modern Studies Museum Studies Physics Political Science Public Policy and Public Administration Religion Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literature Science and Engineering Hall Sociology Speech and Hearing Sciences Statistics Theatre and Dance University Writing Program Womens Studies
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Dean�s Search Committee Elected
 Last week, Columbian College faculty elected nine representatives—three from each of the divisions of Math and Science, Arts and Humanities, and Social Science—to the Dean’s Search Committee. The group will lead a nationwide search to find a successor to Dean Peg Barratt, who announced her intention last May to end her six-year tenure as dean, effective June 30, 2013.“We on the Dean's Council have completed our part of the process and are very optimistic about the possibilities from here,” said Mark Reeves, associate professor of physics and chair of the Dean’s Council, which managed the election process. Read more. Focusing on the Facts Ed Scott Funds Bipartisan Initiative through a $1.5 Million Gift  Sound bites and bumper stickers. Spin and nuance. During an election year, it can be difficult to sort through the political rhetoric to find the facts behind the most important issues facing the United States today. To offer a remedy and help draw citizens back into the public square, philanthropist Edward Scott, Jr.
made a $1.5 million gift to Columbian College’s School of Media and Public Affairs to launch Face the Facts USA. Read more.
Class of 2016 Snapshot  This year’s incoming class is a comprised of a diverse and talented group of young scholars. According to preliminary numbers, Columbian College first-year students had an average SAT score of 1950. Sixty percent are female and the majority hail from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, and Pennsylvania. Nearly 10 percent of the first-year class is Asian, close to seven percent is Hispanic, 6.6% identify as international students, and 5.5% are African American. Confessions of a Political Junkie  By the time most people are waking up, Reid Wilson, BA ’05, has read dozens of newspapers and blog posts from across the United States. As editor-in-chief of National Journal Hotline, Washington’s daily tip sheet on campaigns and elections, he wouldn’t have it any other way.“I love politics. I love the game of it,” said Wilson, who studied classical humanities and archaeology while a student at GW. “I get to be a sportscaster for the only game that matters. We’re at this seminal moment in American politics where not one but both parties are reinventing themselves fundamentally.” Read more. Signature Shakespeare Program Expanded  One of Columbian College’s signature undergraduate initiatives—Dean’s Scholars in Shakespeare—has grown from a one- to a two-year program to provide more in-depth exploration of the works of William Shakespeare in a global and multimedia context. The expanded program includes additional scholarships, lecture series, cultural events, and a “living and learning” cohort on the Mount Vernon Campus."The cohort is a great experience for new freshmen to interact with their fellow classmates, whom they will be taking classes with for the next two years," said Program Director and Associate Professor of English Alex Huang. Read more. Government Regulations: Rhetoric vs. Reality A Commentary by Prof. Susan Dudley  Regulatory policy is a central issue in the 2012 presidential race as the Republicans and Democrats stake out their positions. Republicans blame President Barack Obama and the Democrats for excessive, job-killing regulations, while Democrats warn of the wholesale deregulation of financial and environmental safeguards if Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wins.But are these caricatures accurate? Not according to government statistics—which show that, except for Ronald Reagan and Obama, Republican and Democratic administrations have issued new regulations at the exact same rate. Read more. 200-Year-Old Oceanic Mystery Solved  The origin of Cerataspis monstrosa
has been a mystery as deep as the ocean waters. For nearly two centuries, researchers have tried to track down the larva that has shown up in the guts of other fish over time but found no adult counterpart. Until now. Biology Professor Keith Crandall has cracked the code to the elusive crustacean’s DNA, and his findings were recently published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. His research, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, shows how “monster larva” and the deep-water aristeid shrimp known as Plesiopenaeus armatus
are one in the same: larvae and adult forms of the same species. Read more.
Writing Program Receives Top Recognition by U.S. News & World Report Columbian College’s Writing in the Disciplines (WID) program was nationally recognized by U.S. News and World Report for its success in writing instruction. The program shares the recognition with some of the nation’s top schools, including Brown, Duke, Princeton, and Yale. WID is a division of the Writing Program, which also encompasses the Writing Center. "It’s wonderful to see this sort of national recognition of the innovative and effective work that is being done in Writing in the Disciplines classes throughout the undergraduate curriculum at GW," said Derek Malone-France, director of the WID program. "The writing program shares this honor with all of the many faculty and graduate student assistants who are daily engaged in this work. And we’re particularly grateful to Dean Barratt and Provost Lerman for their ongoing support of the program." Read more. Alumni Weekend Draws Record Crowd  A crowd of more than 2,800 alumni returned to campus for Alumni Weekend, making this year’s round of festivities the university’s largest ever. The three-day event, which featured Earth Wind & Fire, Taste of GW, a political brunch, class reunions, and more, also drew nearly 800 students, faculty and staff. “It was great to welcome so many of our graduates back to campus and to see other members of our community enjoying the fun,” said Dean Peg Barratt, who hosted a special reception for Columbian College alumni on Friday evening. “The energy of the weekend was infectious.” Read more. Alumni Gift Establishes History Scholarship A recent $1.17 million gift commitment by Allen K. Harris, Esq., BA ’65, will create the Allen K. Harris, Esq., Annual Scholarship in History. The scholarship will support deserving undergraduate history majors, with preference for those who have demonstrated financial need. This gift was made through a provision in Harris’ living trust. In Memoriam: Robert G. Jones We note with regret the passing of Robert G. Jones  , professor emeritus of religion, who taught at GW from 1959 through 1991. As chair of the Department of Religion from 1963 to 1979, Jones was a generous mentor to new faculty members and presided over the expansion of the department to include courses in most of the world’s religions of the world. He also served as University Marshal for twenty years. Awards and Recognition Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs Steve Balla and doctoral candidate Zhou Liao presented their research on "Online Consultation and the Nature of Citizen Feedback in Chinese Policymaking" at the annual meeting of the Association of Chinese Political Studies (ACPS) in San Francisco. Balla was also elected research director of the ACPS. Director of the Public Policy Program and Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration Dylan Conger received the Leslie A. Whittington Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Public Administration. The American Councils for International Education selected Associate Professor of Arabic and International Affairs Mohssen Esseesy to oversee proficiency assessments of U.S. and Overseas Arabic Flagship programs spanning K-16. Chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Art History Dean Kessman won third place in the Trawick Prize: Contemporary Art Awards. Professor of Chemistry John Houston Miller received another grant from the National Science Foundation for his research on laser diagnostics. Combined with an award he received last summer, Miller has now brought in $350,000 for the GW Chemistry Laboratory. The Department of Energy (DOE) has put into action the recommendations made by 2012 graduates of the Environmental Resource Policy Program Kristin Quam, Dalton Shaughnessy, Blake Smith, and Benjamin Walsh. Last spring, the students teamed up with the DOE’s Office of Legacy Management to examine the feasibility of implementing a 4.5 megawatt solar array on a former uranium mine in Bodo Canyon outside of Durango, Colorado, with the goal to increase the use of green energy. Dmitry Streletskiy, geography research scientist, will lead the $168,000 component of the three-year, $700,000 project “Collaborative Research: Interactions between Air Temperature, Permafrost and Hydrology in the High Latitudes of Eurasia” in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire. Medieval and Early Modern Studies doctoral candidate Haylie Swenson won the Michael Camille Essay Prize for her essay "Lions and Latour Litanies in The Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt.” Selected Published Works Evgeny Finkel, assistant professor of political science, recently published "Mass Killing and Local Context" in the October issue of Comparative Politics. Associate Professor of Political Science John Sides co-authored an op-ed for The New York Times series, "Campaign Stops," about Americans' use of government social policies. Assistant Professor of Media and Public Affairs Nikki Usher published two papers in Journalism: “Ignored, Uninterested, and the Blame Game” which discussed business journalists’ response to the 2007-09 financial crisis, and “Marketplace Public Radio and News Routines Reconsidered,” which discussed the relationship between individuals and organizations, based on a five-month in-depth study of American Public Media's Marketplace.
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