Social Sciences

ANTHROPOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE - College of Arts and Sciences alumni were among the 200 alumni who gathered for the 10th annual UO Board Summit. The alumni that attended included Natalie Poole, BA '80 (political science) who is a senior vice president at Wells Fargo Capital Finance and triple Duck David Lewis, PhD, '09 (anthropology) who serves as an assistant professor at Oregon State University.

On the cusp of a new year, Tykeson Dean of Arts and Sciences Chris Poulsen took time to share what he is most excited about in the College of Arts and Sciences, now and into the future. "The success of this strategy doesn't depend on a few leaders. It depends on all of us," Poulsen said.

HUMANITIES, WOMEN, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - These Duck alums are among those working to alleviate hunger. See how CAS and Clark Honor's College alumni like Ian Dixon-McDonald, BA ’06, Rebecca Sprinson, BA ’09, are making a difference in Oregon by tackling hunger.

NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Funded through federal, state and institutional grants, the University of Oregon Home Flight program provides financial support, academic advising and culture-rich activities for qualifying American Indian and Alaska Native undergraduates. Now in its fourth year, the program has more than tripled in enrollment, to 170-plus students, while increasing the number of Native graduates.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Sarah Koski graduated with a degree in political science in 2006 from the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences and Robert D. Clark Honors College. To find her purpose and mission, Koski first had to break up with the notion that all success is a high-powered executive job. Now a community resource liaison for Lane Transit District, Koski works to help people feel seen and heard, and to make real change in the unhoused community.

SOCIOLOGY - New research co-authored by CAS sociology assistant professor Byron Villacis Cruz explores the forces that influenced Ecuador to adopt the dollar in 2000, which impacted the country on social and economic levels — and what it teaches us about future policies around the world.

SOCIOLOGY - As part of the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History summer field school, the students are spending a month immersed in Indigenous cultural landscapes while studying archaeology, history and ecology and, at the same time, helping restore oyster beds. They’re learning vital career skills while helping usher in a new era of archaeology with Gabe Sanchez, a CAS assistant professor of sociology.

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES - In spring 2025, Assistant Professor Lana Lopesi received the Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching in recognition of her early career excellence. Since joining the UO, she has developed five courses within her department and helped put together the first IRES study abroad program to Sāmoa in partnership with political science professor Ronald Mitchell. 

SOCIOLOGY - Professor Jessica Vasquez-Tokos' new book "Burdens of Belonging: Race in an Unequal Nation" explores how race shapes the everyday experiences of individuals and what it means to be a “so-called problem” in the predominantly white state of Oregon in the 21st century. "How does racial status inflect one’s sense of belonging in the nation?” Vasquez-Tokos said.