Category Archives: Events and Speakers

New Law School Application Success Series

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Ernesto Chavez (left) joined our faculty this fall as a Lecturer in Law and Policy; he is also the campus’ new Pre-Law Coordinator.  Prof. Chavez comes to us from Saint Martin’s University where he taught courses in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies. Prior to Saint Martin’s, he spent fourteen years as a criminal defense attorney after receiving his law degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, As our Pre-Law Coordinator, Prof. Chavez will be supporting UWT students aiming for a law-related career. This year, in conjunction with the Teaching and Learning Center, Prof. Chavez has initiated the Law School Application Success Series, a series designed to help students navigate through and succeed with their law school applications. The series will include UWT’s first ever slate of LSAT preparation classes. Please join Prof. Chavez and the TLC for its kick off event on October 11th.

What:  Kick Off Event for Law School Application Success Series

When:  Wednesday October 11th, 3-4:30

Where:  Lucien Boardroom, 320 GWP

For more information, contact Prof. Chavez at elchavez@uw.edu

Prof. Will McGuire To Join Taiwan Delegation

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Professor Will McGuire will be joining an academic delegation to Taiwan this summer organized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Will’s participation in this high-level delegation is the result of an invitation from the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle. The trip brings American scholars of Taiwan or Mainland China together with Taiwanese government officials and scholars. This year’s delegation includes American academics from Harvard University, UCLA, Emory University, Brigham Young University, the US Air Force Academy, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Jamestown Foundation. It begins July 15th and ends July 21st.
Professor McGuire will be sharing his experiences in Taiwan during an upcoming Travel Talk organized by World Affairs Council Tacoma on November 15th.  The event will at held at Tacoma Community College from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Bowling and McMinimee To Discuss Constitutional Rights in Criminal System

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Nate Bowling

This Tuesday evening, Prof. Shannon McMinimee and Lincoln High School’s Nate Bowling (Washington State Teacher of the Year, and National Teacher of the Year finalist) will lead the discussion “Beyond Law and Order: Understanding Your Rights in the Criminal Justice System.”  Designed for both high school and UWT students, the conversation will focus on individuals’ constitutional rights from initial interactions with police through a trial.

Date and Time:  April 25th 6:30 p.m.

Location:  UWT’s Science 309

Shannon McMinime

Mr. Bowling teaches AP Government and Politics and AP Human Geography at Tacoma’s Lincoln High School.  He is a 2016 National Teacher of the Year Finalist, as well as a 2016 Washington State Teacher of the Year.  In 2014 he won the Milken National Teaching Award; he is also the Co-Founder of Teachers United.  Prof. McMinimee is an attorney specializing in school and employment law, providing her clients with guidance on their Constitutional rights and liberties.  She represented the Seattle School District before the United States Supreme Court.  She teaches Constitutional Law at UWT this quarter.

Thinking About Graduate School? Attend this Info Session!

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Image result for graduate schoolInterested in graduate school, but not sure which one is right for you?  On Jan 18th from 12:30-2pm (CP 206), PPPA is hosting an information session to provide UWT students with information on the range of graduate school options available to them. Join the discussion with admission representatives and former UWT students from graduate programs in law, public policy and administration, and international studies.  Compare your options and get your questions answered.

Participants:

  • Mathiew Le, Asst. Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid, UW Law School
  • Barry Wall, Director of Admissions, UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
  • Jennifer Butte-Dahl, Director, UW Masters in Applied International Studies

Date:        Wednesday January 18

Time:        12:30- 2pm

Location:  CP 206 (UWT campus)

Questions?  Contact Prof. Katie Baird (kebaird@uw.edu)

Image result for graduate school

Is Voting for a Third Party a Wasted Vote?

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Are you considering voting for a third party candidate in the 2016 Presidential election, but aren’t sure if its the right choice to make? Come listen to seasoned debaters take on the topic.  Members of the Pacific Lutheran University Speech and Debate team will partner with local policy experts, including our own Prof. Ben Meiches (left) to publicly debate the question “Is a vote for a third party a wasted vote?” on. Oct. 4.

Democratic Communication Specialist Aaron Sherman and student debater Mariah Collier will speak for the yes side of that proposition, while Prof. Meiches and student debater Tate Adams, will argue for the no side.

“I think that the viability of a third-party vote is one of the most important problems that we face, as Americans, in the context of this upcoming election,” Adams said. Prof. Meiches commented that he is “looking forward to this opportunity since the debate format encourages members of the audience to participate.  We rarely get the opportunity to openly discuss different strategies of voting and party support in this kind of competitive, but inclusive forum.”

Event Details:  7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 at Eastvold, Karen Hille Phillips, Pacific Lutheran University.  Admission is free, and the program also will be streamed live online via www.plu.edu/lutecast.

Postscript:  Read about the debate in the News Tribune!

Election Series Kicks Off With Debate Over Sound Transit 3

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Proponenst3-8ts and opponents of Sound Transit 3 (ST3) teed off Monday night in a two-hour debate over this November’s ST3 ballot initiative.  The event, held in William Philip Hall. was moderated by newly-hired
professor of economics Justin Beaudoin. It opened with Sound Transit’s Executive Director of Planning Ric Ilgenfritz presenting an overview of Sound Transit’s prior two phases; followed by a description of the proposed third phase:  a $20 billion extension of light rail that would, among other things, connect Tacoma to the SeaTac airport and Seattle. You can watch a youtube video of the event here.

The ST3 debate was the first of a series of sevenst3-2 election-related events that Politics Philosophy and Public Affairs (PPPA), a Division within UWT’s School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, is
organizing with the Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters.  Go here for a detailed description on the entire series. Special thanks go to students Blake Stagner, Gabriela Raisl, and Berkan Koroglu for their help with this inaugural event.

Congressman Derek Kilmer Visits With Students

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kilmer 1On Tuesday May 31st, US Rep. Derek Kilmer visited UWT to spend 90 minutes with students in Prof. Katie Baird’s Economics of Public Policy class. Conversation between students and the CoKilmer 3ngressman covered a range of policy issues, including the cost of higher education, the need for campaign finance reform, the shortage of beds for those with mental health problems, and
whether the nation’s degrading stock of nuclear weapons should be rekilmer 2placed.  Rep. Kilmer also commented on the divided and divisive nature of politics today, but urged students to remain engaged.  Ending on a hopeful note, he remarked that “This isn’t the first time in our country’s history that our nation has been so divided.  And in all times but one–the Civil War–we have always managed to work together to find a solution.”

2016 PPPA Paper Prize Goes to Brianna Trafton

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Brianna Trafton won this year’s Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs’ (PPPA) annual award for the best Capstone paper, a paper written for Prof. Charles Williams’ Capstone on The Great Depression.  The paper (“The New Deal  Watershed—for Watersheds:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, New Conservation, and the Legacy of an Environmental President”) argues that FDR’s growing awareness of environmental challenges shaped both his New Deal policies and our nation’s subsequent environmental policies. “Brianna did a great job connecting the personal and ideational roots of FDR’s New Deal policies, and uncovering his lesser-known legacy on environmental issues,” said Prof. Etga Ugur, one of three PPPA faculty members who judged papers nominated for this award.  In total, faculty nominated six students for PPPA’s annual award.

All three faculty judges remarked on the outstanding quality of the students’ work.  “These were among the best student papers I’ve seen in my 16 years at UWT,” commented Prof Katie Baird. “We thought a number of them should be published almost as is.”

The other five nominated papers included three from Prof. Ugur’s Capstone class on Democratization and Political Development in the Middle East:  Brian Juneman wrote “Iran’s Green Thumb:  Why the Growing Reform Movement isPPPA internship event Slow to Bear Fruit”;  Brittany Hale (the winner of the PPPA paper prize two years ago) wrote “International Creations: The Case of Iraq, Syria, and Jordan”; and Joshua Va
zquez was the author of “The Syrian Identity Crisis: Explaining the Resilience of Assad’s Ruling Bargain”.  Prof. Eric Bugyis nominated two papers from his Capstone on Christianity and Radical Politics.  Ian Clogston wrote a paper entitled “Virtue, Terror, and Republicanism during the French Revolution,” and Austin Reddy wrote “Sacramental Theology as Immanent Science: The Subversive Heart of Catholicism.” “All of these papers were excellent,” remarked Prof. Ben Meiches, “Picking a top paper was particularly difficult because a strong case could be made for each of them.”

PPPA paper prize 2A brief award ceremony, followed by Brianna’s presentation of her paper, will take place Monday May 23rd from 12:30 to 1:30 in the Dawn Lucien Boardroom (GWP 320).  All are welcome, and pizza will be served.  All past PPPA paper prize-winning papers can be found in UWT’s Digital Commons.