The UO’s Environment Initiative has awarded seed funding to five new teaching projects to support faculty members who have proposed innovative courses and dynamic classroom experiences. The funding supports both research and curricular projects and focuses the intellectual energy and work of faculty, students and community partners on a just and livable future through transdisciplinary research, teaching and experiential learning.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Todd Braje earned a doctorate in archaeology at the University of Oregon in 2007, and now he’s been selected to return to the UO to lead the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

ANTHROPOLOGY, HISTORY, POLITICAL SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY - The College of Arts and Sciences is adding six Latinx studies tenure-track faculty members in several departments as part of the college’s commitment to becoming a premier institution for Latinx studies while meeting student demand for culturally relevant classes.

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.

ANTHROPOLOGY; HISTORY; INDIGENOUS, RACE & ETHNIC STUDIES; POLITICAL SCIENCE; WOMEN'S, GENDER & SEXUALITY STUDIES - The awardees hail from 13 disciplines and all career phases. College of Arts and Sciences faculty won 11 of the 15 awards.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Elizabeth Kallenbach is using cutting-edge tools to trace humanity’s use of native Oregon plants through 12 millennia of archaeological basketry and cordage.

THEATRE ARTS, ANTHROPOLOGY, CINEMA STUDIES - March into spring with an array of events sure to inspire and speak to your inner artist. Learn about the history, symbolism and process of creating pysanka, one of the most recognizable folk art forms for celebrating Easter in Ukraine. Or take in one of the many programs in the music and dance departments at the School of Music and Dance.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Humans may have arrived in North America earlier than once thought and encountered previously unrecognized challenges, according to new climate research from an interdisciplinary team that includes scientists from the University of Oregon.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Early human ancestors used small hand-held stone tools to butcher animals and crush plants. At an archaeological site in present-day Kenya, researchers have unearthed some of the oldest examples of such so-called Oldowan tools, dating to 2.6 million to 3 million years ago.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Emerging studies suggest that transgender girls may be more likely than other youth to be HIV positive. It also appears that LGBTQIA+ youth and adolescents who may be affected by health inequities may lack resources for prevention and education regarding sexual health and safety.