GEOGRAPHY, INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES - Oregon’s historical markers, those roadside signs commemorating the state's past, give a version of history that University of Oregon researchers say is skewed. But a team of students is working to address the histories that highway markers omit through an online interactive map.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Nicholas Burns (class of 2025), isn’t afraid to stop and smell the roses. Burns is dedicated to finding and applying strategies to create new pollinator habitats and combat their decline. He studies the fitness of flowering plant species in response to neighboring competition and pollination alongside mentor and professor Lauren Hallett at the University of Oregon Hallett Lab.

GLOBAL STUDIES - It’s a big world, and decisions that happen in one region often ripple out to others. The School of Global Studies and Languages provides students with an internal atlas that helps them understand the forces and decisions that have human impact.

All the world’s a stage for CAS students, whether they’re on the screen, in the classroom, in the lab or beyond. Hear from Dean Chris Poulsen about how humanities programs like theatre arts and cinema studies build valuable skills—and how storytelling fosters an understanding of what it means to be human. And if you’re in the Eugene area, buy your tickets for the University Theatre production of POTUS, which runs Feb. 7-23.

ECONOMICS - Increased exposure to glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States and much of the world, harms infant health in agricultural counties, according to a new study by two University of Oregon economists Emmett Reynier and Edward Rubin. The two published the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

GEOGRAPHY - Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane—it’s students using drones for mapping! High-flying unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are increasingly used to map and analyze large areas, especially in a world impacted by climate change. To prepare students for mapping-related careers, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Geography offers a Mapping with Drones course during the spring term.

Through fellowships, the Oregon Humanities Center at the University of Oregon works to promote innovative humanities research produced by faculty members at the UO. The fellowships are for tenure-track faculty and are awarded on an annual basis. The 2025-26 fellows include CAS faculty members in the Divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Political strategist and author Rachel Bitecofer started her college career at 24 as a single mom. In 2009, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences Magna cum laude as a McNair Scholar. She continued her education at the University of Georgia, receiving her PhD in political science and international affairs in 2015.