Following the story: Professor Sarah Hampson

Posted on September 30, 2015 by pppauwt

Sarah Hampson, an Assistant Professor in PPPA starting her second year at UW Tacoma, has a few secrets.

Enthusiastic about her classes and her research into work/life policies surrounding motherhood, as well as her self-identity as an idealist occasionally called “Pollyanna”— Hampson is also a huge sci-fi fan!

“I love sci-fi!” she said, laughing. “Star Trek. Time travel. But also historical fiction, and any kind of meta story.”

“I just want to be in a really good story and never have it end.”

A bit surprising for a Law and Policy professor? Maybe.

But maybe not so much when that professor was an undergraduate English major who spent a year studying at Oxford and still loves reading novels—at least when she has time.

But with a love for sci-fi and British literature, how did Hampson end up teaching Law and Society at UW Tacoma?

Well, that’s quite a story… Continue reading →

‘2015 UW Tacoma Innovate Law Challenge’

Posted on March 16, 2015 by pppauwt

In January, Professor Sarah Hampson’s TPOLS 150 Introduction to the American Legal System was pleased to invite Mr. Sands McKinley, a local lawyer and entrepreneur, and founder of the local law firm McKinley Irvin, to speak with her class about the future of law school and the legal profession. As a special challenge for Professor Hampson’s students, McKinley created the 2015 UWT Innovate Law Challenge. This project asked Professor Hampson’s students to answer the question: “How Can the Legal Industry Improve the Delivery of Legal Services in the US?” with proposals that showed an entrepreneurial or innovative approach to the law. Continue reading →

Congratulations to our 2014 graduates!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by pppauwt

Congratulations to all our 2014 graduates! We’re proud of this year’s UW Tacoma graduates who have majored in Politics, Philosophy & Economics or Law & Policy.

Politics, Philosophy & Economics graduates:
Jaime Ray Dalit Arreola, Imanjit Singh Bains, Miguel Angel Balderamma, David Allen Barnes, Nicholas Bradford, Brynn J. Brooks, Raymond Brooks, Jacob Alan Bush,
Fu-Yen Chan, Annie Songyie Choi, April A. Coberly, Lauren Catherine Conley, Patrick Courtney, Brant Robert Delarme, Yahye Y. Dineh, Semone Dover, Kevin James Drugge, Nicolas J. Dunning, Alex-Jon Earl, Kaycie Elwess, Thomas Gregory Farrow, Erin Barbara Gaede, Uuriintuya Erika Ganjargal, Brandon Green, Cristina M. Hakansson, Shane Gregory Hall, Janessa India Harris, Thomas L. Harris, Katrina Ann Honrade, Tzu Yang Hsu, James D. Jagger, Aaron Robert Jones,
Michael A. Jordan, Sheetal Kavita, Elliot J. Klavuhn, Aaron C. Knapp, James Koo,
Feipang Lam, Wei Li, Arely Lopez, Colin W. McCann, Jason Frederik McCausland,
Carley N. Metcalf, Jason M. Michaud, Dominique Andrew Miles, Chantell Munoz,
Megan Kimberly Nation, Martin Nderi, Jason Michael O’Neill, Madeleine Broxton Park,
Alycia Lorraine Patterson, Yessica M. Perez, Jeremy Scott Peterson, Stacilynn Mae Rambow, Julian Lavar Richards, Laura C. Richardson, Jeremy Bradon Rothschild,
Michelle Santos, Janaia Marie Seacrest-Holden, Arianna Elizabeth Shorey,
Ronald Smith, Liliya A. Stakhovich, Jesse Jameson Strege, Madhav Subedi,
Milena Summers, Tallman Harlow Trask IV, Thanhhong Thi Vu-Smith,
Perrin J. Walker, Nicole Nadean Wilcox, Tremicka Nicole Williams, Rees T. Yaden, and
Dennis E. Zuleta-Dupleich

Law & Policy graduates:
Mohamed Hassan Ahmed, Sharon-An B. Athey, Grady Heins, Jordan Emma Katherine Jones, Ramon Ralph Maddox, and Michael Wotherspoon

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.

Faculty hold research colloquium in Silverdale

Posted on May 29, 2014 by pppauwt

This May, PPPA held its first annual research colloquium retreat. Organized by Prof. Turan Kayaoglu, the event took place over a long weekend where eight faculty members participated in sessions discussing six different research papers. Chaired by Profs. Turan Kayaoglu and Brad McHose, the sessions included papers presented by Mary Hanneman (“Surrender, Society and National Identity: Implications of Japan’s WWII Surrender“); Rob Crawford (“The Politics of Accountability for U.S. Torture“); Jane Compson (“The CARE Protocol: A model for introducing healthcare professionals to self-care literacy“); Will McGuire, (“Institutional Barriers to Creative Destruction and the Future of China’s Economic Development“); Etga Ugur (“Contextualizing Islamist Politics: Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey in Comparative Perspective“); and Katie Baird (“Financial Crises and Transfers to the Poor: A comparison of social policies in eight European nations”). The colloquium took place in Silverdale, and in addition to the scholarly sessions, faculty also enjoyed meals together (above) and a game of disco bowling (no picture included). It was a very successful retreat, and we are now planning for next year’s second annual colloquium.

Annual PPPA student-faculty softball game

Posted on May 26, 2014 by pppauwt

In what has become an annual ritual, students and faculty engaged in a hotly contested game of softball at Tacoma’s Vassault Park this May. We all enjoyed the sun and warm breezes blowing in from left field, and a fine game of softball followed by a BBQ. After four successive years of defeat, the students this year came out determined to win. And win they did! It was a close game, but graduating Law and Policy senior Grady Heins squashed the faculty’s early celebrations by socking a second home run, this one a three-run blast in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, allowing students to eke out a hard-fought but well-earned victory against us. Since alumni play for the faculty team, we look forward to having Grady on our side next year.

Summer course on Elections and Campaigns engages students

Posted on May 21, 2014 by pppauwt

This summer we’re providing a unique opportunity for students to gain credit while also working on election-related activities such as working on a campaign, working on campaign coverage in the news, or investigating particular issues that arise during the campaign season. In the course TPOLS 405 Advanced Elections and Campaigns taught by Prof. Ben Gonzalez, you’ll learn about the rules and organization of political campaigns, and examine the role of media and campaign finance in the outcome of elections. PPE and Law and Policy students can also use this class to meet capstone requirements! For more information, email Ben Gonzalez at bfg@uw.edu.

Professor Hashemi keynote speaker in Middle East and Africa seminar

Posted on March 12, 2014 by pppauwt

PPPA’s seminar series focusing on the Middle East and Africa continues this Spring with a keynote address by Professor Nader Hashemi (right) of the University of Denver (UD). Prof. Hashemi is an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies at UD’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is also Director of UD’s Center for Middle East Studies, and the author of several books on politics and the Middle East. As a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, and with opinion pieces in places such as the New York Times, Prof. Hashemi has quickly become one of the most sought after experts on the Middle East. His address is titled “Is Hassan an Iranian Gorbachev? An Assessment of the Islamic Republic after the Geneva Nuclear Deal.” This talk will take place May 7th at 4 pm in the Tacoma Room.

Also on tap spring quarter: The distinguished Mr. Faisal Roble of the Institute for the Horn of Africa Studies will be visiting the UW Tacoma campus. Mr. Roble (left) is a well-respected intellectual, political analyst, and essayist with extensive experience in Africa’s Horn region. He will be delivering a lecture entitled “Post Civil War Somalia: Challenges and Opportunities,” on April 10th at 4 pm in the Carwein Auditorium. UW Seattle’s James Long (below), Assistant Professor of Political Science and an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, will follow this up with a talk on “Electoral Fraud and Political Violence in Africa.” Prof. Long’s research focuses on elections in fragile and developing countries, the dynamics of electoral fraud, the causes of electoral violence, and the effects of civil war and insurgency on state-building and development. Long studies these issues in both sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, and will be speaking on campus April 23rd, 12:30 pm in CP 103. Rounding out the spring schedule will be our own Michael Wotherspoon, a senior in Law and Policy, who will discuss “The Press, Ethnicity and Free Speech in Kyrgyzstan”. His talk will be based on his experiences in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where he’s been working for Spektator Magazine. May 29th, 12:30 pm in the Tacoma Room. Thanks to both IAS and UW Tacoma’s Arts and Lecturer Committee for making these events possible. Continue reading →

From Tacoma to Bishkek: PPPA students experience internships

Posted on March 10, 2014 by pppauwt

Lester Burkes, intern for Sen. Sheldon

This winter was a busy time for student internships. Eleven of our students won spots in the prestigious Washington State Legislative Internship program in Olympia – which meant once again UW Tacoma sent more students to participate in this program than did any other school in the state. Students interned with senators and representatives during the past legislative session. In addition to their office work, interns participated in weekly academic seminars and workshops, met with state officials, took part in a budget exercises, and participated in mock hearings and mock floor debates. Many also had opportunities to shadow an elected official or administrator of a state agency, and take a trip to Victoria, B.C. to compare law making in Canada with law making in the US. Seven other PPPA students interned for members of the US Congress here in Tacoma (Rep. Derek Kilmer) and Seattle (Sen. Patty Murray), while three went to Washington, DC to work for Rep. Kilmer, Rep. Adam Smith, and Sen. Maria Cantwell. One other intern worked at Joint Base Ft. Lewis-McChord, and a final was the ASUWT representative in Olympia.

Brandon Bannister debating on the Senate fl

Michael in Bishkek

: Global Studies major Kristie Weisert interned for Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles. While sitting at the Senator’s desk, she remarked that “my Senator makes me feel like I could actually be a Senator one day!”

My-Le Tang with Gov. Inslee

This quarter also saw one of our students, Michael Wotherspoon (a senior, majoring in Law and Policy) intern in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He is still there studying Russian and writing for Spektator Magazine, a publication that reports on Central Asian affairs. Our man in Bishkek is writing articles about democratic reform and freedom of religion in the Kyrgyz Republic — a topic he’ll share with us during a May 29th seminar.

Two faculty members to join PPPA

Posted on March 9, 2014 by pppauwt

IAS recently hired two new faculty members who will join PPPA faculty next year. Sarah Hampson will be joining us to teach courses in public law. She is currently finishing up her PhD. in Political Science at the University of Connecticut, and her specialty is in Law and Society, with a special interest in policies around a work/life balance. She is interested in connecting big questions in law and society with practical public policies. She is also interested in politics, women in the military, and race and ethnicity in American Politics. “I am very excited to be joining UW Tacoma this fall, and I look forward to teaching courses in public law, including Law in Society, Constitutional Law, and Law and Public Policy.”

Elizabeth Bruch is our new expert in human rights. She earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, has a PhD in sociology from the University of British Columbia, and will be teaching courses primarily in the area of human rights. Her research focuses on international law and policy, human rights, and humanitarian intervention. Having worked as a human rights lawyer before she began teaching, Elizabeth brings this perspective to her classes and scholarship. “I am looking forward to joining the PPPA Division of IAS this coming fall. My family and I will be moving to the Tacoma area from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and we are excited to explore another part of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.” Next year she will be teaching International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Law and International Organizations.