PPPA faculty members leading interfaith conversation on Israel-Palestine

Posted on February 5, 2015 by pppauwt

by Dr. Turan Kayaoglu

On January 25, 2015 about 100 people, many of whom are associated with a religious tradition, gathered at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) for an “Interfaith Conversation on Israel-Palestine.” This conversation–sponsored by UPS, and facilitated by Dave Wright, Director for Spiritual Life and Civic Engagement and UPS chaplain–was initiated by Associated Ministries in collaboration with the Temple Beth El, Mountain View Lutheran Church, and the Muslim Student Association of the University of Washington Tacoma. PPPA faculty member Turan Kayaoglu was a member of the organizing committee. Continue reading →

UW Tacoma joins the 1st SHARP Summit

Posted on January 16, 2015 by pppauwt

On Friday, Jan 9th 2015, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Tacoma, WA. held a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) Summit directed specifically at including non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in a community discussion of sexual harassment and assault in the Army. Members of the UW Tacoma community were also invited to attend as part of an ongoing partnership between JBLM and the University of Washington. Shelby Edwards, the Program Assistant for Community Engagement in the Office of the Chancellor, and PPPA Assistant Professor Dr. Sarah Cote Hampson were among those in attendance. Hampson conducts research on women and workplace cultures, and one of her areas of specialty is women in the U.S. military. Continue reading →

Changing format

Posted on January 16, 2015 by pppauwt

Over the last year, PPPA has used this site as more of a newsletter than a blog–but today all that is changing.

Blogs, with their more frequent and timely posts, seem to be more “friendly” and accessible to students and faculty alike, offering more of a glimpse of “what’s happening now,” rather than “what happened last month.” We feel this new format will keep students and faculty–as well as the larger community–better informed of all that is happening within PPPA as a division of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma.

We hope you enjoy our new format! You’ll be hearing from us much more often.

Brittany Hale wins annual PPPA paper prize

Posted on June 1, 2014 by pppauwt

Brittany Hale is the 2014 PPPA Paper Prize winner, an award won for her PP&E capstone paper on medical marijuana. Brittany wrote this paper while interning during the winter quarter for the Washington State Legislature. The annual award, given to the student with the best capstone paper for the year, was announced April 30th at the PPPA Internship/Paper Prize Event in William Philip Hall, and Brittany presented her paper during a lunchtime seminar May 15th in the Tacoma Room. Hale states, “My time in Olympia as a legislative intern piqued my interested in public policy. All of the proposed legislation around medical marijuana in this last session provided an important focus for my research paper. I am honored and excited to receive recognition from UWT, and I’d like to thank Professor Baird for helping me focus my research and perfect my paper.”

Lester Burkes’ paper, “Venice Submerged,” on the topic of nuclear power, was named runner up for the prize. Lester also wrote his paper while interning for the Washington State Legislature. Congratulations to both! You can read Brittany’s paper–and those of past PPPA prize winners–in UW Tacoma’s Digital Commons.

Two faculty members leaving….

Posted on May 31, 2014 by pppauwt

Two additional faculty members will not be returning next year, and we wish them the best. After spending a year at UWT, Prof. Ben Gonzalez recently accepted a tenure track position at Highline Community College. “My time at UW Tacoma has been great and I will really miss working alongside all of the other wonderful members of faculty in PPPA and IAS. During my time here, one of the things I’ve appreciated the most is the diversity of the student body who brought a range of perspectives to our discussions of American politics that I consider invaluable. This has been a great year and I am looking forward to collaborating with UW Tacoma faculty when I am at Highline.”

Prof. Kim Earles has been teaching for us for two years, and will be leaving UW Tacoma at the end of the spring quarter to pursue other career opportunities. “Thanks to my colleagues in PPPA for all of their help and mentorship in tackling the challenges of teaching and research, and thanks for their continued support and friendship as I end my time at UW Tacoma.”

Three faculty gain new positions

Posted on March 8, 2014 by pppauwt

Our loss is someone else’s gain. Three of our faculty members will be leaving at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities. Prof. Michael Zbaraschuck (left), a lecturer in Religious Studies, has been teaching for us for three years. He has just been awarded a tenure track position down the road at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). “Although I’m excited to pursue new professional opportunities at PLU, I’ll miss my students and colleagues here at UW Tacoma.” Prof. Daniel Bennett (right) also gained a tenure track position in Political Science at Eastern Kentucky University. Dan is teaching public law classes for us this year, and commented: “I have relished the opportunity to teach at UW Tacoma, mainly because of the students — the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives I have encountered in the classroom is incredible.” Finally, Brad McHose (left) recently accepted a Visiting Scholar position at the Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford University, and will be heading south this summer. Brad has taught courses in ethics and philosophy for us over the last two years. We will miss all three of them, but wish them well with their new positions.