SOCIOLOGY - The College of Arts and Sciences is investing in its Latinx studies courses by hiring nine new tenure-track faculty members. Byron Villacis Cruz joins CAS after working as an assistant professor at Bowdoin College, a private liberal arts college in Maine. Before becoming a professor, Villacis worked alongside prominent social scientists and politicians in Ecuador but returned to academia after several years of working there.

INDIGENOUS, RACE, AND ETHNIC STUDIES - The College of Arts and Sciences is investing in its Latinx studies courses by hiring nine new tenure-track faculty members. Meet Arifa Raza who is one of nine Latinx studies-related tenure-track professors who are part of CAS’s investments in a growing academic field.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - In mid-August, Chandler James, an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) as a district-level delegate. This is what he experienced.

HISTORY - The stories of more than 140 Mexican and Mexican American workers who lived and worked not far from the University of Oregon campus went untold for nearly a century until students in a CAS history class discovered them, countering the white settler-dominant history books of the area. Led by Julie Weise, a history associate professor who focuses on the history of migrations in the Americas, students researched and wrote these local histories as part of a course series called Hidden Histories, which aims to tell the stories of underrepresented communities in Lane County.

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Ideas of what constitutes “normal” in the exercise of presidential duties have changed in recent years, but a new University of Oregon study indicates most Americans still support traditional norms, at least until they run up against partisanship. Chandler James, a political science assistant professor, published this research in Presidential Studies Quarterly.

ECONOMICS, GLOBAL STUDIES, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICAL SCIENCE - Two College of Arts and Sciences students — one attending an immersive Mandarin language study abroad and the other serving on a state of Oregon board on climate change and exploring Peru — are having life-transforming experiences.

SOCIOLOGY - When Burks arrived at the UO in 1992, he had no idea what to study, but an introductory sociology class grabbed his attention. “It appealed to my curiosity about what makes people tick,” he says. Burks would go on to have a career filled with danger and intrigue as a special agent for the US government, protecting international dignitaries and overseeing security at embassies around the world.

ANTHROPOLOGY, HISTORY, LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announced this year's Outstanding Research Awards, many of which went to College of Arts and Sciences faculty members: Professor Carlos Aguirre (history and Latin American studies) and Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanchez (anthropology).

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, PHILOSOPHY - Sensors collect data on all sorts of information, including gait consistency, body temperature, heart rate, and more. But where is the ethical line between using sensor data to help an athlete improve their performance—and even avoid injury—and that same data being used to sideline them or used as surveillance of behavior?

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, INDIGENOUS, RACE, ETHNIC STUDIES, - Staff and faculty members came together for the inaugural College of Arts and Sciences Awards and Hallmark Achievement Reception, which celebrated some of the achievements of faculty and staff. In addition to celebrating some of the college’s faculty members who have received accolades outside of the university, the ceremony featured the college’s first-ever awards that recognize the work of faculty and staff.

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - Brian Klopotek, an associate professor, is one of three College of Arts and Sciences faculty members to receive the Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy award from the university's Office of the Provost.

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.”

POLITICAL SCIENCE - This ADPI Heritage Month, the UO Alumni Association reflects on the many contributions of Ducks identifying as Asian, Desi, and Pacific Islander. Meet College of Arts and Sciences alumni and the careers they have developed after college. May Wu, BA ’15 (political science) is featured in this story.

GLOBAL STUDIES, SOCIOLOGY - Japan's energy shift after the Fukushima disaster saw a surge in fossil fuel use. How does this impact their long-term sustainability goals? Recent research by Yvonne Braun of global studies and Michael Dreiling of sociology is featured.