News

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.

THEATRE ARTS – Ever since she stepped on the stage in middle school, University of Oregon alum Jerilyn Armstrong (Theatre Arts, 2017) knew she wanted to be an actor. Her curiosity and eagerness led her to build valuable connections with instructors and explore every opportunity in the Department of Theatre Arts, setting her up to pursue her passion after college.

EARTH SCIENCES - Graduate student Annika Dechert at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences and a team of researchers are working on studying the eruption history of South Sister volcano in the Oregon Cascades. The results of the study will inform the way the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory draws up hazards maps for Central Oregon and help shape the way scientists think about other similar volcanoes. The research team published their latest findings in August in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

ECONOMICS - Wildfire smoke costs Oregon households $450 per day as they try to adapt by purchasing air purifiers, canceling trips and keeping children at home to minimize exposure. That’s just one of many economic impacts of climate change tallied up in a new report by a five-member nonpartisan group The Forum on Oregon Climate Economics, or FORCE. The group includes Keaton Miller, an associate professor of economics with the College of Arts and Sciences.

GLOBAL STUDIES - Jennifer Esparza served in the Marines Corps for 11 years, earning the rank of staff sergeant and a half-dozen awards. In 2011 she enrolled at the UO, and in 2017 she earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and went to law school at Georgetown University. She worked for the Biden-Harris administration as a White House liaison and now is senior adviser to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher, the department’s second-highest official.

THEATRE ARTS – At the North Pole, Victor Frankenstein has finally caught up with his Creature, intending to kill him to right his wrong of creating him in the first place. Before he can, the Creature asks, “Why did you make me?” This simple question is the premise of the University Theatre's production of "Frankenstein: Playing with Fire," which opened Nov. 8 and plays for three weekends through Nov. 24.

BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Ecologists from the University of Oregon have designed a soil health management system to strengthen the long-term vitality of the state’s hazelnut industry. Oregon produces 99 percent of the nation’s hazelnuts, but the escalation of global extreme heat, which brings dry soil and scalded plants, threatens the agricultural productivity of the region.