CAS News

HISTORY, LINGUISTICS - A historian and a linguist have received National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) awards, a prestigious honor that goes to only 16% of applicants in a given year. The grants were awarded to Gabriela Pérez Báez, associate professor of linguistics and director of the Language Revitalization Lab, and Arafaat Valiani, an associate professor in the Department of History and affiliated faculty in the Global Health program.
POLITICAL SCIENCE - Assistant Professor Neil O’Brian is among 28 academics and researchers across the United States to be selected as a 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellow, which comes with a $200,000 grant. O'Brian's newest book, “The Roots of Polarization: From the Racial Realignment to the Culture Wars,” will be released in August by the University of Chicago Press.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE, SPANISH - Leah Middlebrook, associate professor of comparative literature and Spanish for the College of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed as the new director of the Oregon Humanities Center. Her new position starts July 1, 2024. Middlebrook brings a rich humanities background to the position and she said the position is an honor she takes seriously.
COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY - Artificial intelligence can detect art forgeries and take scientific research in new directions. But its impact on the classroom raises as many questions as answers. Can AI help students learn what they need to succeed in a rapidly changing workplace—and at what cost? Read more in CAS Connection!
BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - University of Oregon neuroscientist Judith Eisen has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her work on neuron development and how the enteric nervous system in the gut regulates and interacts with microbes in the intestine. Eisen is head of the Department of Biology and a member of the Institute of Neuroscience.
Success at the University of Oregon looks different for each student, from academic achievement to personal growth to career readiness.
COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, SPANISH - Two College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate students—Ethan Dinh and Alex Staben—win first and second place at the Clark Honors College's Three Minute Thesis.
Faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences were among the 15 University of Oregon scholars to receive award money from the Faculty Research Awards, provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.
CREATIVE WRITING - Alum Ross West pens a climate fiction collection of 15 stories about complicated environmental issues through 15 timely and thought-provoking stories that explore how climate change affects everyone.
SOCIOLOGY - Department of Sociology Associate Professor Claire Herbert has joined alongside more than 50 other social scientists throughout the US to urge the US Supreme Court to not allow governments to criminalize camping on public property. The case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson begins oral arguments April 22.
CINEMA STUDIES - Dive into the art of producing with a hands-on immersive experience through the University of Oregon’s “The Art of Producing” Visiting Filmmaker Series 2024 . Hear firsthand from the producer who brought “The Last of Us” to the screen, explore the craft of horror cinema and learn about a variety of possible careers in the film industry.
ENGLISH - After a long career centered around a fascination for 19th-century American literature, William (Bill) Rossi will soon receive a prestigious honor: the Thoreau Society Medal. As a diligent professor emeritus of English, Rossi’s dedication to understanding the works of Henry David Thoreau has left a mark on literary scholarship and the University of Oregon.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY - Fire is a dynamic process and requires a multidisciplinary approach to appreciate its complexities. Researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences are combining their unique perspectives to gain a comprehensive understanding of fire and its impacts on West Coast communities.
PHILOSOPHY - Cintia Martínez Velasco, an assistant professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, appears on an episode of UO Today, a production by the Oregon Humanities Center. Her research and teaching interests include feminist philosophy, gender theory, decolonial philosophy, and critical theory in Latin America.
THEATRE ARTS - A new set of lights at the University Theatre provides students with opportunities to work with the latest technology that is used in professional theaters. It's just one of many experiential learning opportunities that theatre students have at the College of Arts and Sciences.