Stitches to Startup</h1> <article> <h1>Stitches to Startup</h1> <p>tapplega — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 16:48:40 +0000</p> <span>Stitches to Startup</span> <span><span>tapplega</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-09-26T12:48:40-04:00" title="Tuesday, September 26, 2023 - 12:48">Tue, 09/26/2023 - 12:48</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In the midst of a pandemic, while many were seeking solace in newfound hobbies, Andrea Muliawan ’26 was weaving her passion into a burgeoning online business: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/andreasfiberarts?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1524180661">Andrea's Fiber Arts</a>. The initiative began with a crochet needle, thread, and a profound sense of creativity.</p> <p>As Muliawan’s designs took shape, so did her entrepreneurial spirit. With the support of a <a href="https://www.bdmorganfdn.org/oberlin-college">Burton D. Morgan Microgrant</a>, Muliawan realized how this small business could turn into a lifelong side gig. On September 27, the second-year <a href="/node/3346">biology</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history">history</a> student will share insights from her entrepreneurial voyage in a talk in Moffett Auditorium (lower level of Mudd Center) hosted by the Office of Entrepreneurship. Intrigued by her journey and keen to know more about how she manages her business aspirations alongside her dream of attending medical school, we caught up with Muliawan for a quick Q&A.</p> <p><strong>What sparked your journey into crocheting, and how did that transition into the inception of Andrea’s Fiber Arts on Etsy?</strong></p> <p>I began crocheting during the early days of the pandemic, with my mom’s knitting tools. Initially, I followed online patterns, but soon I felt the urge to freehand my designs, allowing for more creative expression. A few months after I initiated my Instagram account, I was propelled to start my Etsy shop. The platform seemed an apt space to showcase and sell my creations.</p> <p><strong>Managing a growing online store while balancing college studies must have been quite the challenge. How did you adapt your business model to fit your academic commitments?</strong></p> <p>My primary challenge was advertising my products while keeping up with my studies. I also participated in on-campus markets, which meant some of my Etsy-listed items were sold in person. This made fulfilling online orders on the fly quite challenging. I pivoted to making items to order for Etsy and later transitioned to selling digital downloads of my Hera Top pattern. This shift allowed me to focus more on school without compromising the business.</p> <p><strong>The Burton D. Morgan Microgrant was a game-changer for you. What made you apply, and how has it reshaped your outlook towards Andrea’s Fiber Arts and your future goals?</strong></p> <p>I initially applied for the microgrant after seeing it advertised in the Campus Digest. I had already made some pieces that I was excited about selling, so that spurred me on. Receiving the grant was an eye-opener. Before it, my professional goals were centered on attending medical school and embarking on a physician’s journey. That’s still a dream I’m ardently pursuing. However, the microgrant made me realize I could juggle a side gig that did not have to be a primary source of income but could serve as a creative outlet. It’s all about having fun, experimenting, and picking up interpersonal skills that can be applied anywhere—including in a medical profession!</p> <p><em>For those inspired by Andrea’s journey and wish to witness her creativity firsthand, you can explore her unique crochet designs on her Etsy shop, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/andreasfiberarts?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1524180661">Andrea's Fiber Arts.</a> To stay updated with her latest creations and entrepreneurial ventures, give her a follow on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/andreasfiberarts/">@andreasfiberarts</a>.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Andrea Muliawan recieved a grant that helped her turn a hobby into a budding business.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-09-27T12:00:00Z">Wed, 09/27/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tyler Applegate</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2390">Events</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25251">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25381">History</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/business" hreflang="und">Business</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" hreflang="und">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" hreflang="und">History</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy of Andrea Muliawan</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Secures $1M Mellon Foundation Grant for Food Studies Partnership with Lorain County Community College</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 23:00:30 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Secures $1M Mellon Foundation Grant for Food Studies Partnership with Lorain County Community College</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-03-03T18:00:30-05:00" title="Friday, March 3, 2023 - 18:00">Fri, 03/03/2023 - 18:00</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The <a href="https://mellon.org/">Mellon Foundation</a>, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities, has awarded 91ֱ�� College a $1 million grant to help launch a food studies program in collaboration with <a href="https://www.lorainccc.edu/">Lorain County Community College</a> (LCCC). 91ֱ�� has received more than $20 million in Mellon grants since 1970.</p> <p>The new alliance will unite students and faculty from the two campuses with local nonprofits to tackle urgent questions related to food justice, including the historical and present-day barriers that prevent residents—especially those in lower-income communities and communities of color—from accessing high-quality food in Lorain County and beyond. Groundbreaking partnerships with farms and food-justice organizations are central to the program and exemplify 91ֱ��’s commitment to community-based learning and research.</p> <p>91ֱ��’s focus on food studies has been crafted as an <a href="/node/413251">integrative concentration</a>, one of several programs intended to blend coursework with experiential learning. 91ֱ�� students may choose to pursue integrative concentrations in tandem with their major courses of study. The grant will fund programming through the summer of 2026.</p> <p>“Students will learn to engage in respectful, reciprocal, and ethical relationships with growers and food justice advocates while gaining practical experience through internships and ongoing collaborations,” says professor <a href="/node/5661">Jay Fiskio</a>, director of <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies">Environmental Studies</a> at 91ֱ��. “We are committed to understanding the needs of our community partners and supporting their work.”</p> <p>One of the county’s largest nonprofits, <a href="https://www.oberlincommunityservices.org/">91ֱ�� Community Services</a> (OCS) provides more than 30,000 meals a year.</p> <p>“We are thrilled to be working with 91ֱ�� College and LCCC to create long-term solutions to food inequity and the unjust systems that cause it,” says OCS Executive Director Margie L. Flood.</p> <p>While LCCC and 91ֱ�� have joined forces before, the food studies collaboration marks a significant expansion of the relationship between the neighboring institutions. Together, they plan to create or revise more than 20 courses and offer nearly 40 internships and other community-based learning opportunities for students at both colleges.</p> <p>“The food studies program is the perfect marriage of rigorous coursework and real-life application of lessons learned in the classroom,” says <a href="/node/48561">Carmen Twillie Ambar</a>, president of 91ֱ��. “This visionary undertaking lies at the heart of our mission to train young people to become leaders who do good in the world.” </p> <p>For LCCC, the grant will strengthen an existing program in <a href="https://www.lorainccc.edu/sciences/sustainable-agriculture/">sustainable agriculture</a> that allows students to contribute to the production, distribution, and marketing of locally grown produce through hands-on experiences with farmers and growers.</p> <p>“LCCC is committed to fighting food insecurity and food injustice in Lorain County and neighboring areas,” says Jonathan Dryden, LCCC provost and vice president for academic affairs and university partnership. “This innovative collaboration will advance the work already under way through local partnerships with agriculture and community organizations. By joining with 91ֱ�� College for this initiative, our community will soon reap the rewards of a holistic and equitable food system.”</p> <p>91ֱ��’s Fiskio will lead the grant initiative with professor Ruby Beil, coordinator of LCCC’s sustainable agriculture program. To build the curriculum, they will tap into the complementary strengths of their home campuses: a wide network of community partners at LCCC and an interdisciplinary team of liberal arts faculty at 91ֱ��.</p> <p>Classes will explore topics such as foodways (the everyday activities, often carried out by women, related to the cooking and eating of food and how that cultural knowledge is passed from one generation to the next), Black farming and land ownership, and practices such as seed keeping (saving seeds to plant in later harvests to preserve biodiversity and culturally significant crops for future generations).</p> <p>Early programming will include an introductory course on food studies available to students from both campuses; a speaker series that will draw on the expertise of farmers, scholars, and food-justice activists; a course on urban farming; and a research project involving the city of Elyria, which is home to the LCCC campus and includes neighborhoods where residents struggle to find fresh, affordable produce and other nutritious staples. These “food deserts,” says the city’s mayor, Frank Whitfield, have existed for decades but are hardly unique to Elyria.</p> <p>Students interested in food justice as well as business and social entrepreneurship will explore alternatives to chain supermarkets or traditional grocery stores—such as the cost of revitalizing a vacant downtown building and ways to fund it—to help Whitfield’s administration solve a real-world problem. “My hope is that through this partnership, we’re going to come up with a new model that other communities around the country are going to be able to replicate,” says Whitfield.</p> <p>Thanks to the Mellon Foundation grant, food studies interns will be paid for their work—a boon to busy students at both 91ֱ�� and LCCC. Professor Beil’s diverse group of learners includes traditional college-age students as well as high schoolers earning college credit, veterans, and retirees who want to teach their grandchildren how to plant and harvest food.</p> <p>“It’s really hard for students juggling full-time jobs and family responsibilities to find the time to go out in the community and volunteer, even though that is something they would love to do,” says Beil.</p> <p>Paid internships are a game-changer, she says, extending the reach of what students can give back to the community while helping with the bills. A portion of the grant is allocated for elder care, childcare, and transportation, so that all students can fully participate in the spadework to get high-quality food on area shelves and engage in thoughtful collaborations to address food security on a regional, national, and global scale.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Wide-ranging collaboration to address food justice across the region through the humanities.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-03-06T12:00:00Z">Mon, 03/06/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2583">College of Arts and Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2369">Environment & Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3875">Integrative concentrations</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jay-fiskio" hreflang="und">Jay Fiskio</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Rumi Shammin Researching Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh</h1> <p>eulrich — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 14:12:40 +0000</p> <span>Rumi Shammin Researching Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-06-28T10:12:40-04:00" title="Friday, June 28, 2019 - 10:12">Fri, 06/28/2019 - 10:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Through a <a href="https://cilc.oberlin.edu/liase/" target="_blank">Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE)</a> grant, Shammin visited the Kutupalong-Balukhali expansion site in the Cox’s Bazar district in January 2019, which is the largest refugee camp in the world with a population of more than 700,000 people.</p> <p>“Once I visited the refugee camps, it opened up a new set of questions and opportunities to do further work,” Shammin says. “It was a transformative experience for me. I felt like I can actually contribute and get involved with work in these areas that will make meaningful differences in people’s lives today, unlike many of my other projects that have impact and results in the future.”</p> <p>Shammin’s visit to the Kutupalong site came shortly after the third major Rohingya refugee crisis in 2017, which was prompted by clashes between a Rohingya rebel group and the Myanmar Army. Since the first Rohingya refugee crisis in 1977, large numbers of Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh. A 1982 citizenship law that left the Rohingya stateless, as well as their exclusion from Myanmar’s first democratic election in 2015, have contributed to the exponential surge of refugees in Bangladesh in recent years.</p> <p>Shammin, whose primary scholarship areas are energy and urban issues, climate change adaptation mitigation, and sustainability and resilience, is now developing a new project on environmental sustainability and resilience in refugee settlements. He is examining the impact of the settlements on the environment, including energy and water usage, waste and wildlife management, as well as ecological restoration, protection, and rehabilitation. Shammin is particularly interested in the intersections of environmental, social, and public health issues in the camps. </p> <p>“Even though I didn’t work specifically on refugee environmental issues, I did other work that’s similar,” he says. “So, I could transfer my experiences and skillset to this quite easily.”</p> <p>Shammin’s ultimate goal is to develop a resilience framework for refugee response, which would provide guidelines that can be incorporated in refugee response programs around the world. Such a blueprint would address refugee environmental management, as well as social and mental health issues within the camps.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Rumi Shammin at the Kutupalong-Balukhali expansion site in Bangladesh<br> Photo credit: Rumi Shammin</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of opportunities to address these issues within refugee camps, Shammin is studying other major refugee settlements and seeking ways to identify isolated initiatives and replicate them on a wider scale. </p> <p>Shammin says that developing such a blueprint may provide some relief for the millions of refugees throughout the world who experience trauma and uncertainty. Part of this model might include allowing refugees, especially young adults who may be especially affected by a lack of purpose, to play an active role in sustainability initiatives within the settlements. Such initiatives may include plantation and solar installation projects that could provide refugees with vocational training that might be helpful for future life beyond the camp.</p> <p>“These approaches are places where you can see mental health and lack of purpose being addressed through empowerment and job and skills training,” Shammin says. “These programs can offer the refugees opportunities to be productive and at the same time advance environmental management of the settlements. That’s an example of where my work might be going: looking at ways to integrate environmental solutions with social solutions, so you have a more comprehensive approach.”</p> <p>Shammin worked with three research assistants in spring 2019—Ananya Gupta ’20, Leo Lasdun ’20, and Charlotte Price ’20—who have supported his research on refugees. Gupta, an environmental studies major, focused on how organizations define refugees and how this affects those who don’t fit into such definitions.</p> <p>“One of the best parts of this research is that our secondary research will hopefully contribute to professor Shammin’s primary research project on the refugee crisis in Bangladesh,” Gupta says. “Student work could potentially provide insight into the response available in situations of refugee crises across the world in the future, and that blows my mind every time I think about it.”</p> <p>Price, who is also an environmental studies major, studied social and environmental programs with a particular focus on creative new approaches in selected refugee camps, including Zaatari in Jordan, Bidi Bidi in Uganda, and Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya. Lasdun, an environmental studies and economics double major, worked on collecting and analyzing data on global refugee movements, categorizing the origins, drivers, and destinations of displaced people.</p> <p>Shammin is currently working on a book titled <em>Refugees and Resilience</em> with Raquibul Amin of the International Union of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and Dr. A.K. Enamul Haque of East West University in Bangladesh. He is also serving as an advisor to a group that is preparing refugee environmental management protocols for the Rohingya refugee camps.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-06-28T12:00:00Z">Fri, 06/28/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When Associate Professor of Environmental Studies <a href="/node/5706" target="_blank">Rumi Shammin</a> began his current research on the environmental and social dimensions of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, he had been researching community-based climate change adaptation initiatives in rural areas of the country for nearly a decade.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/md-rumi-shammin" hreflang="und">Md Rumi Shammin</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Rumi Shammin (second from left) at the Kutupalong-Balukhali expansion site in Bangladesh</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Rumi Shammin</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bikalpa Baniya ’19 and Gaurab Pokharel ’21 Receive Davis Projects for Peace Award</h1> <p>eulrich — Thu, 30 May 2019 18:52:43 +0000</p> <span>Bikalpa Baniya ’19 and Gaurab Pokharel ’21 Receive Davis Projects for Peace Award</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-05-30T14:52:43-04:00" title="Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 14:52">Thu, 05/30/2019 - 14:52</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Economics and mathematics major Bikalpa Baniya ’19 and computer science major Gaurab Pokharel ’21 have been recognized with the Davis Projects for Peace Award. Named in honor of the late philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis, the award is granted annually to undergraduate students whose self-designed projects promote peacemaking initiatives. Now in its 12th year, the award grants $10,000 to selected students whose projects are based throughout the world.</p> <p>Baniya is the CEO and cofounder of <a href="https://www.nepalidreamers.org/" target="_blank">Nepali Dreamers</a>, a college counseling and success program based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepali Dreamers provides services to Nepali high school students applying to foreign universities, including reflection-guided college counseling, SAT prep classes, and an online tool that allows students to track the progress of their college applications. The program addresses the needs of the more than 13,000 Nepali students who enroll in foreign universities each year, yet lack adequate support during the application process.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Bikalpa Baniya ’19<br> Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>The program focuses on two main areas—college counseling and reflection. Nepali Dreamers encourages students to reflect on their Nepali identities and consider how they can use their foreign education to serve as leaders in Nepal.</p> <p>Baniya and Pokharel will use the award funding to create an online platform for Nepali Dreamers and to connect with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that will provide students in the program with service-learning opportunities.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-30T12:00:00Z">Thu, 05/30/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Through funding from the Davis Projects for Peace Award, Bikalpa Baniya ’19 and Gaurab Pokharel ’21, both of whom are from Nepal, will expand the efforts and longevity of Nepali Dreamers, a college success program.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25341">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25321">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25401">Mathematics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/economics" hreflang="und">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/mathematics" hreflang="und">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/computer-science" hreflang="und">Computer Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Gaurab Pokharel ’21 </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Chris Schmucki ’22</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Shansi Announces Summer 2019 In-Asia Grant Recipients</h1> <p>eulrich — Wed, 29 May 2019 14:11:13 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Shansi Announces Summer 2019 In-Asia Grant Recipients</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-05-29T10:11:13-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 10:11">Wed, 05/29/2019 - 10:11</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In-Asia grant recipients receive up to $1,500 to complete internships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and conduct independent study on topics of their choosing. Upon returning to 91ֱ��, grant recipients present their projects to their peers. First, second, third, and fourth-year double degree students are encouraged to apply for In-Asia grants.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Leina Fieleke ’21<br> Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Leina Fieleke ’21, an art history and psychology double major with an East Asian studies minor, will work as a curatorial intern at the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels in Saitama, Japan. She will be working under the supervision of Yukinori Okamura, director and curator of the Maruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels. Her project is titled “Anti-Nuclear Art Activism in the Context of the Maruki Museum.” At 91ֱ��, Fieleke works as a curatorial assistant of Asian art, a docent at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, a student assistant for the <a href="https://cilc.oberlin.edu/liase/" target="_blank">Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE)</a>, is a <a href="/node/157836" target="_blank">Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow</a>, and is cochair of the Japanese Student Association.</p> <p>“Thinking about what I want to do with my life, I realized one of the most important things to me was to go to Japan and improve my language abilities,” she says. “I think this experience could be transformative for me not just in terms of my language abilities and art historical learning, but also in how I include Japan in my life in the future.”</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Charles Cui ’20<br> Photo credit: Courtesy of Charles Cui</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Mathematics and computer science double major Charles Cui ’20 will explore the social and cultural dimensions of bookstore culture in Taiwan in the digital age through his project, “Nightclubs for Literature: Bookstore Culture in Taiwan.” Cui will interview bookstore owners and customers in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. An international student from China, he is looking forward to developing connections between Asia and 91ֱ��, as well as learning about the continent from a different perspective.</p> <p>“Opportunities like this will really help me understand social phenomena in a comprehensive way and help me become a better communicator through foreign immersion,” Cui says. “What excites me the most is the unknown. I always learn the most from the unexpected.”</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Lea Watkins-Chow ’22<br> Photo credit: Chris Schmucki ’22</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Lea Watkins-Chow ’22 is an environmental studies major and will be working with Tian Shen Ling Organic Farm in Central Taiwan through <a href="https://wwoof.net/" target="_blank">Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)</a>. Watkins-Chow will learn about generational relationships and knowledge of agricultural systems through her project, “Growing in Taiwan: Interactions Between Generations and Agriculture.” She is looking forward to improving her Mandarin and connecting with Taiwanese culture.</p> <p>“Exposure to permaculture and sustainable food systems, in addition to Mandarin and Taiwanese culture, will enhance my academic and extracurriculars here at 91ֱ��,” Watkins-Chow says. She is a member of 91ֱ�� College Climate Lobby and Sunrise, an on-campus environmental organization.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Neko Cortez ’20<br> Photo credit: Courtesy of Neko Cortez</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Jazz trombone major Neko Cortez ’20 will study traditional Philippine instruments and pedagogical techniques in Quezon City, Philippines. In his project, “Finding My Unique Voice Through Musical Syncretism,” he will explore the intersections of music and community with other art forms. As the culmination of his project, Cortez will compose a musical piece that blends traditional Southeast Asian music forms with jazz music. He will give a performance of his work upon returning to 91ֱ��.</p> <p><strong><a class="view-more" href="https://www.shansi.org/iag2019" target="_blank"> Read more about previous In-Asia grant recipients</a>.</strong></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-29T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funded by <a href="https://www.shansi.org/" target="_blank">91ֱ�� Shansi</a>, In-Asia grants enable students to immerse themselves in winter term and summer projects in East, Southeast, and South Asia.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2397">Shansi</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2378">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25286">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25336">East Asian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25401">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25301">Art History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35836">Trombone</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25321">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/east-asian-studies" hreflang="und">East Asian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/mathematics" hreflang="und">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/computer-science" hreflang="und">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Shansi Open House</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Pang Fei Chiang ’19</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Students and Faculty Travel to China through LIASE Grant</h1> <p>eulrich — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 15:10:38 +0000</p> <span>Students and Faculty Travel to China through LIASE Grant</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-03-01T10:10:38-05:00" title="Friday, March 1, 2019 - 10:10">Fri, 03/01/2019 - 10:10</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This winter term, students, faculty, and staff traveled to China on two LIASE grant-sponsored study tours. The trips, Parks and the Environment and Community-Based Environmental Studies: Hong Kong-U.S. Transnational Partnership and Exchange, took place in Sichuan Province and in Hong Kong, respectively.</p> <p>91ֱ�� is in its third year of the five-year LIASE implementation grant to expand teaching and research at the intersection of Asian and environmental studies. The grant has supported winter term and summer study tours to East Asia, <a href="https://www2.oberlin.edu/amam/Worlds%20Apart.html" target="_blank">exhibitions</a> at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, on-campus lecture series, and faculty curriculum development grants. A two-year postdoctoral fellow will also teach anthropology courses on Asia and the environment.</p> <p><a href="/node/5481" target="_blank">Ann Sherif</a>, professor of Japanese and codirector of the LIASE Implementation grant, says that she and Professor of Geology <a href="/node/4926" target="_blank">Steven Wojtal</a>, grant codirector, are especially proud of how the grant’s implementation has spanned myriad parts of campus, including the College of Arts and Sciences, Conservatory of Music, Bonner Center for Service and Learning, 91ֱ�� Shansi, and the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM).</p> <p>91ֱ��’s ethos and teaching approaches are innately interdisciplinary, and this same thinking is at the forefront of what the LIASE grant seeks to promote. The LIASE grant aims to confront environmental issues from a plurality of viewpoints and disciplines—not just from environmental studies—and with a strong emphasis on knowledge of Asian cultures, societies, and languages.</p> <p>True to the grant’s philosophy that environmental problems are best addressed from numerous perspectives, the grant has acted as the impetus for cross-campus discussions about environmental challenges.</p> <p>“It’s the belief of environmental studies that the sciences alone can’t address all environmental issues; it takes multiple perspectives,” Sherif says. 91ֱ��, naturally a good fit for the grant, summoned a multitude of professors and staff to take part in this year’s winter term trips: Assistant Professor of Religion <a href="/node/6356" target="_blank">Cheryl Cottine</a>, Assistant Professor of Sociology <a href="/node/6491" target="_blank">Christie Parris</a>, Assistant Professor of Biology Jordan Price, Associate Professor of English and Comparative American Studies <a href="/node/5631" target="_blank">Harrod Suarez</a>, Associate Professor of Geology and Chair of Archaeological Studies <a href="/node/5781" target="_blank">Amanda Schmidt</a>, Director of Bonner Center Curricular Initiatives and Assistant Professor of History <a href="/node/30426" target="_blank">Tania Boster</a>, and <a href="/node/6816" target="_blank">Jody Kerchner</a>, professor of music education in the conservatory.</p> <p>Rather than asking faculty to plan their winter term trips from scratch, the 91ֱ�� LIASE team invited them into the conversation, and asked them to build off of their existing teaching and research interests and frame their work within an environmental context. For many participants, the study trips were their first opportunity for experiential learning in East Asia.</p> <p>The winter-term trip to Sichuan Province, sponsored and directed by Schmidt, explored how cultural norms influence environmental attitudes and park management in the country. The group traveled with students and faculty from Sichuan University to prominent sites and landmarks such as Mt. Emei, Dujiangyan (one of the oldest surviving irrigation systems in the world), and an animal conservation reserve. They also carried out water sampling and analysis.</p> <p>Rex Simmons ’19, an environmental studies and East Asian studies double major, says that the winter term gave him the opportunity see firsthand the intersections of his studies at 91ֱ��. “I was able to have conversations about environmentalism, geology, and politics in Mandarin,” he says. “The experience was one of the first times I got to connect the dots between my different fields of study.”</p> <p>Lauren Waldman ’22, who intends to double major in East Asian studies and biochemistry, was also on the trip to Sichuan. Waldman echoes that she was also able to apply her studies at 91ֱ�� to a global learning context. “It was my first time abroad, and the opportunity to immerse myself in another culture and connect those experiences to the material I had been studying was absolutely incredible.”</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>A student on the Community-Based Environmental Studies: Hong Kong-U.S. Transnational Partnership and Exchange winter term takes notes in the Kadoori Farm and Botanic Garden Greenhouse<br> Photo by Tim Pelling</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Meanwhile, the trip to Hong Kong, sponsored and directed by Boster, explored environmental studies through the lens of social justice. Through a connected learning course collaboration as part of a <a href="http://liberalartsalliance.org/home" target="_blank">Global Liberal Arts Alliance</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> initiative, 91ֱ�� partnered with Lingnan University and the Education University of Hong Kong to learn how these institutions model community-based learning approaches to environmentalism in their own communities.</p> <p>Nia Daids ’19, an environmental studies major with a public health pathway, says that learning from the Chinese university students allowed her to reflect on her own activist engagements. “Subconsciously, I could feel tensions between culture and environmental sustainability before this trip, but now I am actually able to name that discomfort in my own community, advocacy, and environmental work,” she says.</p> <p>By incorporating visits to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and conservation sites, the group studied first-hand the roles of liberal arts institutions and their surrounding communities in simultaneously addressing environmental issues and social inequities.</p> <p>To prepare students academically as well as to provide a cultural introduction to China and Hong Kong, two module courses—one for each winter-term trip— were offered to students by faculty leaders in the fall. The readings, discussions, and presentations they conducted provided students with cultural, social, and historical contexts of the regions they would be visiting.</p> <p>From the early stages of the grant, the Luce Foundation has encouraged the college to think about ways to make grant initiatives sustainable. Sherif says that the grant has achieved what 91ֱ�� has been striving for: connected learning engagement and connecting people.</p> <p>“One element of LIASE has been to ‘bring Asia to 91ֱ��’ through guest speakers and increased curricular content about Asia,” Sherif says. “The ‘in Asia’ part is crucial; we can’t replicate the high-impact experiential learning that happens when students are actually in Asia on 91ֱ��’s campus. It can be transformational.”</p> <p>She attributes the two new courses that she has developed on East Asia and the environment to the grant and says that faculty and staff’s ability to think about environmental challenges within the context of their own disciplines “has potential for long-lasting effects on campus. Using what they have learned from the grant, they will be here, teach, and interact with generations of future students.”</p> <p>There is currently a LIASE-sponsored exhibition at the AMAM titled, <a href="http://www2.oberlin.edu/amam/NatureandNostalgia.html" target="_blank">Nature and Nostalgia in Early 20th-Century Japanese Art</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>.</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="https://cilc.oberlin.edu/liase/" target="_blank">Read more about 91ֱ�� LIASE</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-03-01T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/01/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Luce Initiative on Asian Studies (LIASE) implementation grant from the Henry Luce Foundation emphasizes integrative approaches to confronting environmental problems.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25336">East Asian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25296">Archaeological Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/harrod-suarez" hreflang="und">Harrod Suarez</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jody-kerchner" hreflang="und">Jody Kerchner</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/amanda-schmidt" hreflang="und">Amanda Schmidt</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/christie-parris" hreflang="und">Christie Parris</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/east-asian-studies" hreflang="und">East Asian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/archaeological-studies" hreflang="und">Archaeological Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students in the Community-Based Environmental Studies: Hong Kong-U.S. Transnational Partnership and Exchange winter term in Hong Kong</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tim Pelling</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Environmental Studies Students Key Players in Cleveland Foundation Grant</h1> <p>eulrich — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 15:20:16 +0000</p> <span>Environmental Studies Students Key Players in Cleveland Foundation Grant</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-12-17T10:20:16-05:00" title="Monday, December 17, 2018 - 10:20">Mon, 12/17/2018 - 10:20</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The 91ֱ�� College Environmental Dashboard team includes Norman D. Henderson Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz, who is project evaluator; Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies Rumi Shammin; energy and urban analysis coordinator; and Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies John Petersen, project director.</p> <p>The project, which will take place through June 2020, heavily involves the work of students in Petersen’s fall 2018 Practicum in Environmental Communications course. Students in Petersen’s class are developing content for all three components of the <a href="https://www.environmentaldashboard.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Dashboard</a> technology that will be installed at the GLSC.</p> <p>Project groups are developing the Building Dashboard component, which communicates real-time energy usage data in the GLSC facility as well as developing Citywide Dashboard, an animated map of the Cleveland metro region displaying its environmental conditions. Students are also generating Community Voices, which combines images and text contributed by collaborators on the grant project, including the Cleveland Mayor’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, the Northeast Ohio Sewer and Water District, Cleveland Metroparks, the Cleveland 2030 District, and the Cleveland Water Alliance.</p> <p>Students are also working with the GLSC staff to develop Dashboard-focused STEM curriculum for middle school students in Cleveland public schools.</p> <p>There are currently 18 Environmental Dashboard monitors installed throughout the city of 91ֱ��, including in the public schools, campus buildings, city hall, local businesses, and the 91ֱ�� Public Library.</p> <p>Several components of the Dashboard technology pioneered at 91ֱ�� have spread beyond the city itself. In 2015-2016, with grant funding from the Great Lakes College Association, Shammin led a project to install Dashboard at four other liberal arts colleges—Albion, Antioch, DePauw, and Hope. In 2015, <a href="/node/34086" target="_blank">in collaboration</a> with Palmer Conservation Consulting, and funding from the State of Ohio, Building Dashboard technology was also installed in 42 Toledo public schools. Two years later, a pilot installation was implemented in six Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools. </p> <p>To most 91ֱ�� students, Building Dashboard is easily recognizable. Housed in bustling coffee shops, libraries, and the local grocery store, the monitors have become conspicuous components of the 91ֱ�� landscape. Yet, what may be surprising to some is how integral 91ֱ�� students have been to the project’s development and success.</p> <p>“There’s no aspect of the dashboard project that students haven’t been involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating,” Petersen says.</p> <p>And he’s right: <a href="/node/11116" target="_blank">Lucid Design</a>, a data visualization firm created in 2004 by 91ֱ�� alums Vladi Shunturov ’05, Gavin Platt ’06, Michael Murray ’03, and John Petersen (Class of 1988) first developed dashboard technology at 91ֱ��. Lucid was bought earlier this year by Acuity Lighting, a multinational company worth more than $4 billion, and now has monitoring and display systems installed in thousands of buildings across the United States and Canada.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Practicum in Environmental Communications students with project collaborators at a workshop at the Great Lakes Science Center<br> Photo courtesy of John Petersen</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>While some students have gone on to build careers based on their work developing dashboard technology, for many, the most important part of the project is the perspective it provides. “It’s been great to gain context about 91ֱ��,” says junior Grace Bohlsen. “I didn’t feel like I had that perspective before this project, but it’s actually part of this course.”</p> <p>Phoebe Von Conta, the only first-year student enrolled in the course, says, “this project has been helpful to my transition to 91ֱ��. I’ve been able to see the bigger scope of 91ֱ�� and be so quickly immersed in the community I’ll be living in for the next four years.”</p> <p>When Building Dashboard technology was first being developed in 91ֱ�� in 2000, the Dashboard team had green buildings like the <a href="/node/3446" target="_blank">Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies (AJLC)</a> in mind. At the time, 91ֱ�� had a sophisticated green building, yet people couldn’t directly interface with the sustainability measures of the building itself.</p> <p>“The challenge was that, in an ecologically responsible commercial building like the AJLC,” Petersen says, “monitoring and display technology can teach people about the innovative technologies, but visitors and even occupants can’t actually use this information to alter building performances.”</p> <p>So, the question then became: how can environmental technology become meaningful to people, changing both thought and behavior? With this question in mind, Petersen and his team decided to apply the technology that had been developed for buildings like the AJLC to buildings where occupants have greater control over their environment—such as in residence halls.</p> <p>“We created true feedback in the sense that students gain visibility into something they didn’t see before, but have control over,” he says. “The research we have done indicates that this information changes their thought and behavior—so it’s now a complete feedback cycle.”</p> <p>As the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html" target="_blank">immediate consequences</a> of climate change pose a greater threat than previously understood, the work of faculty and students on 91ֱ��’s Dashboard team recognizes that, in order to change the world, we must first change the way we think.</p> <p>In his course, Petersen says, “there’s so much for students to gain from a project that deeply engages them in community-based projects. Positive change in the world is always a collaborative process. What these students are doing with our community partners in 91ֱ�� and in Cleveland, this is real-world work.”</p> <hr> <p><a class="view-more" href="/node/25351">Learn more about 91ֱ��’s Environmental Studies major</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-12-17T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/17/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In August 2018, 91ֱ�� College was awarded a $120,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation to implement Environmental Dashboard technology at the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) and to incorporate real-time energy usage data from the Cleveland metro region.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2369">Environment & Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25351">Environmental Studies and Sciences</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/john-petersen" hreflang="und">John Petersen ’88</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/environmental-studies" hreflang="und">Environmental Studies and Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Practicum in Environmental Communications students with project collaborators at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of John Petersen</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Biochemistry and Ethics</h1> <p>hhempste — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 20:27:58 +0000</p> <span>An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Biochemistry and Ethics</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-10-29T16:27:58-04:00" title="Monday, October 29, 2018 - 16:27">Mon, 10/29/2018 - 16:27</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A biochemist and an ethicist walk into a classroom.</p> <p>While this may sound like the beginning of a joke, at 91ֱ��, it actually happens. Recently highlighted in the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00379"><em>Journal of Chemical Education</em></a>, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Lisa Ryno and Assistant Professor of Religion Cheryl Cottine conducted a team-taught, interdisciplinary module on the biological impact and ethical implications of pesticide use. Ryno employed the module with her advanced biochemistry students, and Cottine used it to teach her sophomore-level environmental ethics students. The course takes a collaborative approach to teaching, very much in line with a number of multidisciplinary courses taking place in <a href="/studioc">StudiOC</a>.</p> <p>After becoming friends at their faculty orientation session, the idea of collaborating was top-of-mind for Ryno and Cottine. Then, the pair heard about a call for interdisciplinary projects that would be funded through 91ֱ��’s existing grant from the <a href="https://www.hhmi.org/">Howard Hughes Medical institute</a> (HHMI). They formulated a plan for a team-taught module and were awarded a small sum to realize their project.</p> <p>The module they created focuses on mechanisms and ethics of pesticide use domestically and agriculturally. Using Rachel Carson’s lauded <em>Silent Spring</em> as a primary text, they wanted to encourage students to consider the biological implications of pesticide use. To facilitate this, students would be asked to explore the chemistry of various pesticides and how they impacted biological systems and larger preservation and conservation practices. Each student would research a pesticide of their choice and then build a case for using or not using the pesticide—all while taking each potential stakeholder’s perspective into consideration.</p> <p>In Ryno’s and Cottine’s course preparations, they wanted to ensure that they would be modeling an interdisciplinary approach to teaching for their students. They wanted to, from a pedagogical perspective, fully illustrate what this type of approach could look like. Not only that, they also wanted to support students in thinking critically about the biological and ethical implications of employing pesticides.</p> <p>To assure an interdisciplinary teaching approach, the professors saw to it that all students had a baseline understanding of both ethical frameworks and pesticide mechanisms of action. They visited one another’s classroom to give students a crash course in relevant course material. Ryno lectured on pesticides to students in Cottine’s religion class, and Cottine informed biochemistry students about essential ethical frameworks.</p> <p>Cottine says that by having students understand both basic biochemistry and how to apply ethical frameworks, students were able to examine the issues at hand in a more robust way.</p> <p>“This unit gave them the tools to think about these problems from at least two very different fields. A solid answer to a tough question requires some background knowledge about how these things work. Understanding the chemical side of things, as well as understanding there are different justifications for approaching it from different ethical perspectives really enabled expansive critical thinking. Had I taught the unit myself, it really wouldn’t have been as effective,” says Cottine.</p> <p>Ryno emphasises that, overall, the unit supported students’ development as well-rounded, critical thinkers. “This unit was a good exercise in students’ critical thinking—which is wholly the goal for every professor here. We want to have students learn to be successful critical thinkers, regardless of the topic,” says Ryno.</p> <p>For many of the students involved, the pairing of subjects was illuminating. Neuroscience, biochemistry, and economics major Sohail Kamdar ’17 found the module to be different from any other science course he had taken before.</p> <p>“This module [was] extremely engaging, as it was the first time any science class I took had a combination of two entirely different subject matters that enhanced my learning and understanding of both,” says Kamdar.</p> <p>Ryno agrees that the module they used is distinctive, as ethics is not typically taught in this way in science courses: “Most of the time, when ethics is taught in the science classroom, it’s taught as research ethics. So [this module] was very different in that way.”</p> <p>For Emma Brezel ’17, the course opened her eyes to new career possibilities and set her on the path for a graduate program in bioethics.</p> <p>“At 91ֱ��, multidisciplinary learning is encouraged, but I never really considered how I could combine my interests in biochemistry and medicine with my interests in religion, anthropology, and law,” Brezel says. “I saw my interests in the humanities and social sciences as something that could inform my future choices as a health professional, but not something that could be front and center. This class motivated me to explore career options in bioethics. I was able to find a program with an emphasis on the clinical practice of bioethics, and I just completed a master’s degree in August. I'm doing research now, but I hope to attend medical school one day and work closely with a bioethics center.”</p> <p>When asked about the module’s future, Cottine and Ryno are optimistic about teaching a full course together, possibly about biomedical ethics or the ethics of poisons.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-10-29T12:00:00Z">Mon, 10/29/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25421">Religion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25246">Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25306">Chemistry</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/lisa-ryno" hreflang="und">Lisa Ryno</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/religion" hreflang="und">Religion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/chemistry-biochemistry" hreflang="und">Chemistry and Biochemistry</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Ryno and Cottine (left to right) at their first 91ֱ�� Commencement in 2015</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy of Lisa Ryno</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Partnership Focuses on Accessibility in Science</h1> <p>tsloan — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 20:11:08 +0000</p> <span>Community Partnership Focuses on Accessibility in Science</span> <span><span>tsloan</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-08-07T16:11:08-04:00" title="Monday, August 7, 2017 - 16:11">Mon, 08/07/2017 - 16:11</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Building popsicle-stick boats may not seem like physics at first, but the activity is just one way to make science more creative and accessible — an effort that Associate Professor of Biology Taylor Allen and the Harrison Cultural Community Centre are undertaking together.</p> <p>As part of a two-day camp last week, Allen and several of his students facilitated approachable workshops for visiting children from Lorain County. Along with constructing boats in Allen’s lab, students from five to 12-years old made paper, explored the Adam Joseph Lewis Center’s greenhouse, and toured the Allen Memorial Art Museum.</p> <p>“As a center, we want to make sure the kids are developing academically, socially, and otherwise,” says Peter Ogbuji, executive director of the Harrison Centre and former assistant director of the Bonner Center for Service and Learning. “We want to give them hands-on experience to get to know the world beyond the city of Lorain.”</p> <p>The project, conceived by Ogbuji, was made possible through a Bonner Center mini grant. Audrey Webster, a rising sophomore who helped supervise the camp, drafted the grant proposal after speaking with Allen, Ogbuji, and Tania Boster of the Bonner Center to assess Harrison’s specific organizational needs. Boster called Webster’s proposal an exemplary model of community engagement, reflecting both Ogbuji’s pedagogical perspective and her own research.</p> <p>Webster’s 91ֱ��-based research focuses on increasing accessibility to science, technology, engineering, and math, particularly at the introductory level. She says that taking a more creative approach and stepping away from memorization-based learning can encourage people who would otherwise be deterred from studying science to try it out.</p> <p>“The kids really had a chance to explore their creativity with the different assignments,” Webster says. “We really tried to emphasize if you don’t get it right away, you can start over and learn from what you did wrong. We want to inspire that love for science by making it more about using the creative process versus memorization.”</p> <p>Moving into the fall semester, both Webster and Allen said they hope to continue working with kids from the Harrison Centre. One idea Allen has for incorporating the partnership is for students in his design-thinking course to create activities that they can then teach to the Harrison youth. Other possibilities include developing relationships between the organization and different groups on campus, such as the engineering club.</p> <p>“We’re trying to encourage others to see a potential future in engineering and science,” says Allen. “They’re approachable activities that can engage munchkins and even adults.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-08-07T12:00:00Z">Mon, 08/07/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tyler Sloan</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A collaboration between 91ֱ�� College and the Harrison Cultural Community Centre is geared toward making science more approachable — and fun — for young students from Lorain County.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2381">Bonner Center</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2398">Community Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taylor-allen" hreflang="und">Taylor Allen</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" hreflang="und">Biology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students from the Harrison Cultural Community Centre and 91ֱ�� build paper towers outside of the Science Center last week as part of a two-day camp.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Dale Preston '83</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Selected for HHMI Inclusive Excellence Initiative</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 14:18:19 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Selected for HHMI Inclusive Excellence Initiative</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-06-07T10:18:19-04:00" title="Wednesday, June 7, 2017 - 10:18">Wed, 06/07/2017 - 10:18</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� College is one of 24 colleges and universities nationwide awarded a $1 million grant through the <a href="http://www.hhmi.org/" target="_blank">Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)</a>'s Inclusive Excellence initiative. The goal of 91ֱ��'s project is to promote persistence and success of all students in STEM fields by changing the ways the science community is built and science curriculum is delivered. Building on a series of listening sessions that brought together 120 individuals from 42 offices and departments to visualize an enhanced model for inclusion, faculty and staff from across the campus will form learning communities to advance inclusive excellence. Departmental teams will extend these efforts, implementing revised curricula focusing on introductory courses, and a new post-baccalaureate STEM fellow will enhance the STEM climate and link curricular and co-curricular activities.</p> <p>"91ֱ��'s Inclusive Excellence proposal was the result of two years of community collaboration. This speaks to the strong and heartfelt commitment of the college to working toward the success of all of our students," said Professor of Biology <a href="/node/5181">Marta Laskowski</a>, who will serve as program director for 91ֱ��'s grant. In developing the proposal to HHMI, she worked closely with grant co-director and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry <a href="/node/5221">Jason Belitsky</a>; Associate Professor of Biology <a href="/node/5151">Taylor Allen</a>; Center for Learning, Education, and Research in the Sciences Director Marcelo Vinces; Associate Dean and Professor of Geology <a href="/node/4926">Steven Wojtal</a>; and Dean of Arts and Sciences Tim Elgren.</p> <p>The Inclusive Excellence initiative’s broad objective is to help colleges and universities to encourage participation and cultivate the talent of students in the natural sciences. HHMI challenged schools to identify the reasons students are excluded from science and find new ways to include students in opportunities to achieve science excellence. In particular, the HHMI initiative focuses on undergraduates who come to college from diverse backgrounds and pathways. These “new majority” students include under-represented ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, and working adults with families.</p> <p>“We’re thinking differently about how HHMI can help move science education forward,” said HHMI President Erin O’Shea. “The challenges this program addresses are important for all of us who care deeply about developing a more inclusive and diverse scientific community.”</p> <p>In a significant move for HHMI, the focus of the new initiative has shifted the locus of responsibility onto the schools— improving the structure of the curriculum and the way it’s delivered; adjusting school policies and procedures; training faculty; and improving the climate and culture.</p> <p>“Too many times we approach diversity with a deficit mindset in which interventions are aimed at ‘fixing the students,’” said David Asai, senior director for science education at HHMI. Instead, the new initiative focuses on the important work of making the culture of the institution more inclusive, he said. “We want to change the way schools do business.”</p> <p>For decades, educational grants—including some awarded by HHMI—have focused on interventions aimed at the students, such as summer research apprenticeships, tutoring, advising, and summer bridge programs designed to ease the transition from high school to college. While these interventions can help the students involved, they don’t generally address long-term issues that, if changed, could have a more sustained impact, Asai said. “Our goal is to catalyze changes that last well beyond the lifetime of these five-year grants.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-06-07T12:00:00Z">Wed, 06/07/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The college will use a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to promote success of all students in STEM. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2563">Grants</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� is one of 24 colleges and universities nationwide receiving a $1 million grant from HHMI to promote the success of STEM students.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Matthew Lester</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>