GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL STUDIES - A student in the College of Arts and Sciences and Clark Honors College, Charles Petrik was drawn to his opportunity with the mayor’s office of Medellin, Colombia, because he is passionate about cultural exchange. While interning, he lived with students from all over the U.S., but his work at the office was conducted entirely in Spanish. In addition to a language “crash course,” Petrik analyzed pothole and public space data, creating representations that city officials could use to identify areas for infrastructure projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY - Damp weather in the winter and spring doesn’t necessarily protect against wildfires later in the year, according to University of Oregon researchers. Instead, increased moisture can act to increase the threat of fire as summer heat bakes the landscape.

GEOGRAPHY - On May 23, 2024, Professor Mark Carey gave a keynote address to the Chilean Congress of Cryospheric Science. According to Carey's abstract on his research, research on the human dimensions of glaciers and the cryosphere has increased substantially during the last decade, including in new subfields such as “ice humanities” and “cold humanities.”

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.

GEOGRAPHY, PHILOSOPHY, ROMANCE LANGUAGES - Three CAS faculty members—Mark Carey, Diana Garvin, and Colin Koopman—were awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL STUDIES - The UO is one of the top 25 higher ed institutions in the US for producing Peace Corps volunteers. For these two CAS students, the Peace Corps is about joining a global community and using their liberal arts degree in a meaningful, life-changing way.

GEOGRAPHY, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Three current UO students have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the oldest international fellowship award in the world.

BIOLOGY, CINEMA STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY - From animals to adhesives to DJ food stamp, students in First-year Interest Groups follow their fascinations and create community.

GEOGRAPHY, GLOBAL STUDIES, HISTORY - Read the stories of six alumni whose work in international affairs is making a global impact.

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.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY - The University of Oregon's Environment Initiative has named six faculty fellows for the 2023-24 academic year, two of whom belong to the College of Arts and Sciences: Lauren Hallett, associate professor of environmental studies and biology, and Peter Walker, professor of geography and environmental studies.

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.

GEOGRAPHY - 'The Ice Sings Back,' by alumna M Jackson (Geography, 2017), tells the stories of four women and their struggles, against the backdrop of the Oregon Cascades. “We—glacier scientists broadly—have done a really good job at studying ice,” Jackson said. “What we don’t have is the business of you and me connecting to a glacier.”

GLOBAL STUDIES, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES - Scholars from the two universities have spanned that global gap, most recently when six faculty members from KIU spent two months this winter at the UO with a shared goal of confronting climate change through research and enhancing teaching.

GEOGRAPHY - The Arctic’s melting glaciers and ice sheets directly cause a rise in sea levels, worsening the effects of storm surges and those associated with coastal erosion. This can have a drastic effect on low-lying coastal communities such as those in western Oregon.