PPPA faculty members leading interfaith conversation on Israel-Palestine

by Dr. Turan Kayaoglu

Interfaith gathering 1 15On 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

Scholarships

The Osheroff and Clark fund provides financial resources for undergraduate and graduate students to support human rights projects that promote social change through direct action. In 2015, we anticipate having approximately $4000 available to distribute; the entire amount may be issued in a single award or split between multiple awardees. The number of awards and amounts will vary depending on the number and quality of applications. In keeping with Abe’s and Gunnel’s belief that accountability begins at home, priority will be given to projects that speak to the particular roles and responsibilities of our own institutions (including government, private sector entities, and the university itself) in human rights.

Applications will be open soon for the Abe Osheroff and Gunnel Clark Endowed Human Rights Fund for Students.

 

… and more scholarships

Tillman Military Scholars Program*
*Application opens Feb. 3, with a March 3 due date
The mission of the Pat Tillman Foundation is to invest in military veterans and
their spouses through academic scholarships – building a diverse community of
leaders committed to service to others. Continue reading

Alumni feature- Colin McCann

Colin McCann_photoColin McCann came to UW Tacoma in the fall of 2011 as a transfer student from TCC. After taking advantage of the Running Start program in his high school, he was only 19 when he first arrived on campus. A self-professed “political junkie,” McCann chose to major in PPE (Law & Policy track), with a Human Rights minor. He was also a member of the Global Honors Program.

McCann attributes a great deal of his intellectual, personal, and academic growth to his experiences at UWT,  noting that nearly everyone he encountered—from professors to fellow students—challenged him “intellectually, and encouraged me to broaden my perspectives.” He claims that he can’t speak highly enough of UWT’s culture of learning and encouragement of academic discourse. “It helped me develop into the person I am today.” Continue reading

UW Tacoma’s 2015 Fulbright finalist

UW Tacoma alumna Lizeth Garcia recently received some great news: she has been named as a finalist for the Fulbright US Student Program.

image001A 2013 graduate of the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics program, Garcia is hoping to teach English in Mexico through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program in 2015-16. After being chosen as a finalist by a domestic screening committee, her application has now been passed to the host country for final selection. She will hear in April or May whether she will receive the award. Continue reading

Changing format

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.

Faculty spotlight: Rob Crawford

“I hitchhiked to Timbuktu over Christmas vacation…”

Rob Crawford photoThat’s the sort of life Professor Rob Crawford has led—so interviewing him for this newsletter was definitely a thought-provoking, rapid-fire experience. We discussed issues ranging from his personal history and academic background, to his position as one of the founding members of UW Tacoma’s faculty, and his thoughts on a thirty-seven year teaching career. There isn’t room here to cover every topic that came up in our hour-long conversation, but the highlights are fascinating. Continue reading

China study abroad- summer 2014

image-5Beef noodles, Buddhist temples, busy streets, and boats on the Yellow River.  Sixteen students experienced all of these things on the UWT summer study abroad in China last summer, led by UWT’s Dr. Mary Hanneman and Tacoma Community College’s Dr. Yi Li.   For the past eight years, UWT students have had the opportunity to gain (or hone) Mandarin skills while studying Chinese history and culture in China.  The 2014 program took students to the city of Lanzhou, in China’s northwestern region, for three weeks of language study at Lanzhou University and one week of travel to Dunhuang, a site on the ancient Silk Road, finishing up with three days in China’s vibrant capital of Beijing. Continue reading

New faculty quotes:

Several new faculty joined PPPA this fall, and a few had comments on how much they enjoyed their first quarter at UW Tacoma.

Ishita NandiIshita Nandi: “I have had a very enjoyable and fulfilling fall quarter here at UW Tacoma. The students are engaging, intelligent and have the right attitude towards learning. We have developed an easy camaraderie in class and I feel like the conversational tone to my lectures makes it easier for them to open up and ask questions. I am always pleasantly surprised to hear my students voice their opinions on the many public policy issues we analyze in TECON 410, and I love seeing that spark of understanding when my TECON 101 students apply a basic economic model for the first time that relates to their own lives and the decisions they make. Continue reading