Congratulations to Dr. Compson and Dr. McGuire! Celebrate these newly tenured faculty by getting to know them a little better, including a preview of their current and upcoming projects.

Dr. Jane Compson, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

Dr. Compson has taught at UW Tacoma since 2012. Her specialties are applied philosophy, environmental ethics, philosophy of religion and the environment, comparative religion, and Buddhist thought (phew!).

Developing new work with the community is a big priority for Dr. Compson. She is brainstorming development of burnout prevention programming for medical professionals through her current position on Tacoma General Hospital’s ethics committee. Reducing burnout is also important for her peers and students, of course, so Dr. Compson is considering a class for stress reduction techniques tailored toward the university community.

A passionate advocate for mindfulness, one of Dr. Compson’s recent published articles focuses on those for whom meditation is difficult – for example, mindfulness meditation may benefit individuals coping with trauma, but it’s common for people experiencing PTSD to struggle with intrusive thoughts. Dr. Compson examines how meditation, though challenging, can be done safely, so everyone can enjoy its benefits. You can check out her publications here. She has also co-edited a new book, Practitioner’s Guide to Ethics and Mindfulness-Based Interventions.

Dr. Will McGuire, Assistant Professor of Economics

Dr. McGuire has taught at UW Tacoma since 2012. He studied Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University and specializes in international economics and the Chinese economy.

When asked if his tenure might have some new work in store for him, in addition to teaching economics courses and running UWT’s study abroad program to China and Taiwan with Dr. Mary Hanneman, Dr. McGuire said, “I’ll be keeping my usual pace.” Which, in case you were curious, looks like all of that plus four simultaneous research projects.

Dr. McGuire is currently engaged in collaborative research on US/China trade relations (working with a legal scholar and an economist); how U.S. firms approach environmental governance, public reputation, and reputational shocks (with a political scientist at UW Seattle); and, locally, how ballot drop boxes affect the propensity to vote, examining representativeness in voter turnout in Pierce County’s most recent election (with fellow PPPA faculty Dr. Katie Baird). Dr. McGuire also keeps up with his old academic advisor (now at the China Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research at Hunan University) through collaborative research on China’s labor markets.

Sounds like they’ll have plenty to keep them busy for a while. Congratulations again to Dr. Compson and Dr. McGuire!