CAS News

POLITICAL SCIENCE, ROMANCE LANGUAGES, NEUROSCIENCE, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY - The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announces the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Research Awards, many of which recognize College of Arts and Sciences faculty.
While you bask in the sun this summer, immerse yourself in these books by University of Oregon faculty and alumni. From speculative fiction set on Jupiter to understanding life on Earth through biophysics, you're bound to find a new favorite book that'll challenge your perspective.
On June 20, College of Arts and Sciences students wrapped up the final day of spring — and years of college work — with commencement ceremonies. Starting in the morning and running until early evening, CAS graduates celebrated their achievements around campus, from Autzen Stadium to the grassy lawns of Global Scholars Hall.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, FOLKLORE, SOCIOLOGY, DATA SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS - Graduating students offer parting words and reflect on their time at the University of Oregon.
HISTORY - Assistant Professor Steven Beda recently won two awards for his debut book on timber workers in the Pacific Northwest. The book, titled Strong Winds and Widow Makers: Workers, Nature and Environmental Conflict in Pacific Northwest Timber Country, is the winner of the Philip Taft Labor History Book Prize from Cornell University and is a co-winner of the Pacific Coast Branch Book Award.
ANTHROPOLOGY - Senior Rowan Glass's research on the Kamëntšá people took him to Colombia three times. While in the field, he studied jajañ, attended the annual Bëtsknaté festival and interviewed Kamëntšá people. Glass encourages undergrads to pursue similar ambitious research projects. He will pursue a master of social and cultural anthropology at KU Leuven in Belgium in fall, with his sights set on a PhD.
BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - New research biology professor Adam Miller’s lab — published in Current Biology — illuminates the importance of neuron-to-neuron communication via direct electrical signaling, instead of the usual chemical messengers sent between cells.
THEATRE ARTS - An original musical play created by and starring Lane County and University of Oregon student disability communities. The play is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 11, at the Hope Theatre. The event is free, first come first served.
CREATIVE WRITING - Undergrads Cecelia Gibbons and Phillip Chan won the annual Walter and Nancy Kidd Memorial Writing Competition in Poetry and Fiction. “They made our judges’ job very difficult with so many worthy entries,” said Kidd Program Director Brian Trapp. “It just speaks to the immense creative powers of our students as both storytellers and poets.”  
PSYCHOLOGY, CINEMA STUDIES, HISTORY - College of Arts and Sciences students shared their research with the academic community at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium.
GEOGRAPHY - A two-day conference June 3-4 will honor the work of University of Oregon Department of Geography Professor Alec Murphy and will discuss the changing significance of territory and the rise of right-wing populism in response to the changing state of borders.   
POLITICAL SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Amy Bowers Cordalis will speak at the University of Oregon's commencement on Tuesday, June 20. Cordalis is the co-principal of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit that represents Indigenous tribes, organizations and people in natural and cultural resource matters. She graduated from the UO in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in political science and minor in environmental studies.
ECONOMICS - People are living longer and birth rates are declining, and that could hamper growth of the U.S. gross domestic product, the monetary sum of goods and services, according to an April 2023 paper published in American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics. University of Oregon Associate Professor and Petrone Chair of Economics Kathleen Mullen is a co-author of the study.
BIOLOGY - Using data science applied to plant and animal records at natural history museums, UO graduate student Jordan Rodriguez is finding new ways to study the evolution of key proteins.
By mid June, the smiling faces of nearly 60 UO faculty members will soon be flying on banners on campus and into town, highlighting outstanding teaching and scholarship. Each of the 59 banners will feature a portrait of a faculty member, a quote, and the reason the person is being featured, such as excellence in teaching, research, mentorship or leadership.