News Releases

ASU softball claims first Pac-10 title

gcampbel — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:11:14 -0600

ASU’s softball team has continued its historic season, clinching its first ever Pac-10 championship.

The team clinched the title behind ASU’s seniors in their last regular season game at Farrington Stadium with a win over the 23rd-ranked Cal Golden Bears 5-2. The win wraps the 2008 regular season for ASU with a record of 56-5 and 18-3 in the Pac-10.

The team will now move on to host the NCAA Tempe Regional, in the first round of the NCAA Softball Tournament May 16 – 18. The team will enter the tournament as a No. 6 seed. Also included in the Tempe Regional are Mississippi St. (40-20), Stony Brook (33-21-1) and Hawaii (38-18).

It is the 19th time in program history and fourth consecutive year, the Sun Devil softballers have been selected as a NCAA Tournament team. If ASU advances, they will host the Tempe Super Regional the following weekend. The Sun Devils will be attempting to make the Women's College World Series for the third consecutive year, after appearances in 2006 and 2007.

As the Sun Devils enter the post-season, the team is celebrating one of its most successful seasons ever.

The Sun Devils made history in March, earning its first-ever No. 1 ranking in school history in the NFCA and USA Softball/ESPN.com polls.

During the season the team also completed its first series sweep of rival Arizona, the two-time defending national champion, since 1988.

ASU also had a series win against UCLA, another traditional Pac-10 and national power. ASU topped the then-No. 4 UCLA Bruins to clinch the series over the Bruins for the first time since 1980

Now, ASU is hoping to continue it’s history making ways.

Game times for the NCAA Tempe Regional are tentatively as follows:

Friday, May 16
• 4:30 p.m. - Mississippi St vs. Hawaii
• 7 p.m. - Stony Brook vs. ASU

Saturday, May 17
• 2 p.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
• 4:30 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
• 7 p.m. - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, May 18
• 1 p.m. - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
• 3:30 p.m. - If necessary repeat of game 6

For ticket information, call the Sun Devils Ticket Office at 480-727-0000.

History sheds light on current human rights issues

evelasco — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:09:00 -0600

Mark von Hagen, a historian specializing in the Russian empire, Ukraine and the borderlands of eastern Europe, is wrapping up his first year as chair of the ASU Department of History in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Von Hagen came to Arizona after spending more than 22 years at Columbia University where he was chair of the history department and director of the Harriman Institute, the oldest and largest teaching and research center devoted to the successor states of the Soviet empire. He also chaired the master’s of international affairs program at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.

At ASU von Hagen is focusing on the current strengths of the department as well as developing the fields of comparative and global history.

In a wide-ranging interview, von Hagen reflects on aspects of ASU’s Department of History and his role in shaping its future.

Why did you decide to come to ASU and chair the department of history?

ASU is an exciting, dynamic institution in the process of transformation. The more I get to know ASU, the more I am impressed by the real possibilities of creating research programs that can connect history with departments in the social sciences and humanities, even the natural sciences and professional schools.

We have one of the strongest programs in public history in the country. The program trains people to work in non-traditional academic careers like museums, archives, scholarly publishing, historical preservation and even documentary filmmaking. These are all fields that historians rely on for sources when conducting their research.

Also, a third of our double majors are in education to be middle school or high school teachers. Having teachers specialized in history is important for developing civic literacy in our future citizens.

What are your plans for the department of history?

Our concentrations in the United States - especially the West- Asia and Europe are strong, but I would like to develop them even further. I have been thinking about an area of study based on our geographic location here in the southwest United States. Since we live in the desert, comparative desert societies is one intriguing possible track. There are a lot of other deserts around the world that have given rise to societies that have not only tested the very notions of sustainability, but made great contributions to civilization.

Urban history is another obvious area to develop. Phoenix is the fastest growing city in the country, a place where sustainability is becoming prominent in people’s minds. The history department is already collaborating with other units at ASU on the interdisciplinary and comparative study of cities.

In order to move the department toward a more global orientation, the history of global processes, from migration to trade to cultural transfers, is another important track. There are a lot of colleagues currently in the department teaching aspects of global history, but here too the opportunities to collaborate with other units across campus and beyond have not been much explored.

And, it seems to me that here in Arizona there’s a lot more openness between mainstream medicine and naturopathic and other kinds of alternative medicines than I’ve been used to from the east coast. The history of medicine, if we look at how other societies at other times dealt with diseases and health, is another area where we might be able to contribute something and give us other opportunities for collaboration with natural sciences, human evolution, the medical school, and others.

How do you fit into the New American University?

I’ve been a leader in the field of Russia, Ukraine and comparative history and area studies for the past 20 years, and I’m bringing that experience here to ASU. A large part of that experience has been global engagement. I have been privileged to be involved in building scholarly and other contacts with colleagues in the former Soviet space, to train students who have gone on to work not just in history, but in the non-governmental sector, especially in human rights.

I support President Crow’s position on student success and agree wholeheartedly that the university should be geared toward the student. It is why I got into higher education in the first place. I enjoy teaching and team-teaching. I have also learned a great deal from interdisciplinary teaching and collaborative research.

What research are you currently conducting?

My scholarship is interdisciplinary, focusing on modern history with an eye to contemporary problems,particularly war and society, multiethnic states and nationality politics in modern Russian and Soviet history.

I am a co-editor of “Russian Empire: Space, People, Power, 1700 to 1930.” The book is a culmination of research completed for a Ford Foundation grant which brought together historians from both Russia and the United States. The premise is to examine the Russian empire by looking at space and regions and evaluate how different empires tried to fill that space with their own institutions, people and ideas. The history of these empires offers some insight on how contemporary multi-national countries deal with difference.

My new book, “War in a European Borderland: Occupations and Occupation Plans in Galicia and Ukraine, 1914-1918,” came out last fall. The book reviews how Russian, German and Austrian armies tried to impose regimes on the borderland territories, during World War I, that are now Ukraine. It is very much contemporary history and has disturbing parallels to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why did you choose to focus your research on Russian and Ukrainian history?

My father worked in military intelligence following World War II and during the Cold War. He would often bring home scrap paper maps of Eastern Europe that they were throwing away, so I had that somewhere in my head. My Austrian mother lived in the Soviet Zone – Austria was divided like Germany into four zones until 1955 – where my parents met. And then, when we were living in Denver, a family friend was teaching Russian and thought it would be a good idea for his daughter and me to study Russian. After that, every time I had a junior high school project in social studies, I did it on Russia. These facts brought me to my lifelong fascination with Russia and its history.

Besides Russian, what other languages do you speak?

Ukrainian, German, Polish, French, and I studied Turkish for two years. I also speak some Spanish. I’ve studied it more recently.

What universities have you attended?

I earned my bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, a master’s degree in Slavic languages and literatures from Indiana University Bloomington, and a doctorate in history and humanities from Stanford University.

You’ve held many international positions. Can you tell us about some of them?

I served as the first non-Ukrainian president of the International Association for Ukrainian Studies and was principal historical consultant to a post-Soviet archival microfilming project, the Russian Archives Project of Primary Source Microfilms (Gale Group). I also remain a member of the advisory board of a second archival publishing project, the Annals of Communism with Yale University Press. I have been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

More recently, I was nominated for the presidency of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies.

You also have an interest in human rights. What inspired you to get involved with that sector?

It actually got started when I was doing my own doctoral research in Soviet history and got to know many Soviet intellectuals in the dissident and human rights communities. Later, I received a grant from the Ford Foundation to do a history of the human rights movement in the Brezhnev era, and eventually I was asked to be on the advisory board of the Europe and Asia division of the Human Rights Watch, a position I still hold. That started my passion for human rights. I taught a course last year before I left Columbia on human rights issues, in post-Soviet conditions. I’ve just started talking with others here about organizing a center for the study of human rights. I’m also involved in planning a conference on gender and human rights issues.

2 faculty earn Centennial Professorships

icsea — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:41:58 -0600

In recognition of excellent teaching and community service, Associated Students of ASU has given the 2008-2009 Centennial Professorship Award to two of their most respected professors, Guy Cardineau of the School of Life Sciences and Kimberly Scott of the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

The two were honored at a reception and dinner April 30. Each received a cash prize of $5,000, plus a stipend of $5,000 to be used for the benefit of students and classroom teaching. They will be asked to give a public lecture during the next school year.

“Competition this year was extremely stiff, with 32 nominations and 16 complete applications, but professor Cardineau and professor Scott stood out among the rest,” says Qiawen Wu, director of the Centennial Professorship search committee. “Their dedication to students was apparent. We would like to commend them on the excellent work they do both in and out of the classroom.”

A committee made up of six graduate and six undergraduate students evaluated the nominees based on teaching contributions, involvement in community service and the impact of intended uses of the award.

Students say Cardineau renders the difficult concepts in microbiology and biotechnology accessible and comprehensible, making sure students understand before moving ahead. He also teaches business and law concepts that have ethical implications in the field, encouraging students to envision the future.

Though he primarily is a researcher, he is strikingly committed to training the next generation of scientists. He is devoted and enthusiastic in his teaching, and he brings experts from industry into the classroom and gives students advice on career development.

Scott’s work focuses on adolescent minority girls, including a project she founded called CompuGirls that brings computer education to minority youths in the Phoenix area. Scott studies the sociology of childhood, race and gender issues in urban elementary schools, and she also mentors a number of students in the DELTA doctorate project.

She encourages young women to become educators who create positive social and community change, and she emphasizes technology skills as a portal to lifelong learning and a successful career.

Cardineau has been at ASU five years, having worked as a researcher in the private sector for 20 years. He has 55 patents worldwide.

In addition to his appointment in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, he is a research professor in the Biodesign Institute and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Scott joined the faculty of the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education two years ago, having been recruited from Hofstra University.

“The Centennial Professorship Award is truly a student award, and a tangible way that we students can give back to the deserving professors who truly hold teaching and community involvement in high esteem,” Wu says. “ASU is quite blessed by professors who show a real joy in their profession. They profoundly influence our lives beyond just academic success.”

Million-dollar Osher Foundation gift assists ASU students

mattcrum — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:23:00 -0600

A $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation, plus an additional $50,000 bridge grant for the 2008-09 academic year, will provide scholarships annually to 20 or more Arizona State University students attending the West campus.

The scholarship fund targets adult students returning to school after a gap in their pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. Unlike many other scholarships, Osher Reentry Scholarships are available to part-time as well as full-time students.

“This generous gift further solidifies our strong working relationship with the Bernard Osher Foundation,” says John Hepburn, dean of ASU’s College of Human Services, which also houses the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Arizona State University.

For the past two years the Bernard Osher Foundation has provided $50,000 annually in scholarships for reentry students in Human Services and the three other ASU colleges and schools located on the West campus – New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences; Teacher Education and Leadership; and Global Management and Leadership. Establishment of the $1 million endowment makes the scholarship program a permanent fixture on the West campus.

Of ASU’s four campuses, the West campus possesses the highest percentage of undergraduate students in the 25 to 50 age range (32.9 percent, as of Fall 2007).

“We’re interested in seeing more people earn a bachelor’s degree,” says Andy Lynch, program officer for the Bernard Osher Foundation. “Students returning to school later in life often have family and financial obligations greater than those of traditional students. At the same time, reentry students regularly receive less financial aid support. The Osher Reentry Scholarship is intended to fill that gap.”

Reentry students are a tremendous asset to ASU’s student body, according to Osher Reentry Scholarship faculty advisor Vincent Waldron, professor of communication studies and faculty research director of ASU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. “Most reentry students are bright, hard-working and well-organized, and they also possess life experiences that enrich classroom discourse,” Waldron says.

“The scholarship I received from the Osher Foundation helped me continue my education without delay, and I am very grateful for their support,” says Bonnie Wentzel, a previous scholarship recipient. “It took me 25 years to become a Sun Devil. As a lifelong Valley resident, a degree from ASU was always my goal.”

Wentzel says support from her husband and three children was critical to her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. She graduated from the College of Human Services and the Barrett Honors College in May 2007. Wentzel now is pursuing a master’s degree in communication studies, working toward a goal of teaching at the college level and establishing a non-profit organization dedicated to helping other multiple-role students who return to college later in life.

As part of her master’s degree program, Wentzel is organizing an April 2009 conference at ASU’s West campus designed to “Celebrate Adults in the College Classroom.” Students, college and university support staff, and community organization representatives will be invited.

“Bonnie is a perfect example of the type of talented, enthusiastic reentry student who can benefit from an Osher Reentry Scholarship,” Waldron says.

Full-time undergraduate students in any of the four colleges on ASU’s West campus typically are awarded Osher scholarships worth $2,000 or more. Part-time students are eligible for smaller awards depending on the tuition bill they face. Recipients are chosen based on criteria including academic performance and financial need.

Baseball wins 40th game with 11-3 win over LMU

ckussala — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:09:03 -0600

No. 3 Arizona State won its third straight with an 11-3 victory over Loyola Marymount in front of a crowd of 2,310 Sunday night at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improve to 40-9 with the win, the fifth time in the past six years they have reached the 40-win mark.

Senior pitcher Josh Satow started and went six innings, allowing just one run and three hits to earn the victory and improve to 6-3 on the season. Jason Franzblau got his first save by pitching the final three innings.

Kiel Roling went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs to lead the ASU offense, while Brett Wallace and Raoul Torrez had two RBI and two hits each. Jason Kipnis also had two hits, and he made a spectacular catch against the center field wall in the top of the fourth inning.

The game was scoreless until the Sun Devils busted it open in the bottom of the fourth with six runs. Matt Newman drew a bases-loaded walk, Mike Leake had an RBI groundout, Roling drove in two with a single to left, Torrez hit an RBI double to left and he then stole home on a double steal.

ASU added to its lead with four more runs in the sixth, as Torrez drove in a run with a groundout, Jason Kipnis had an RBI single and Wallace roped a double down the left field line to score two.

LMU cut into the lead with three runs in the seventh, but that would be the Lions' only scoring on the night. Roling's sacrifice fly to left in the bottom half of the seventh capped off the scoring for the game.

The Sun Devils will go for the sweep of the series tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.

Softball to host NCAA Regionals in Tempe

ckussala — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:54:49 -0600

For the 19th time in program history and fourth consecutive year, the Arizona State Softball team was selected as a NCAA Tournament team Sunday afternoon, where they were also given the tournament's sixth-seed as well. In addition, they were also awarded as a host institution, where they'll host this weekend's NCAA Tempe Regional, and if they advance, the Tempe Super Regional the following weekend.

Also included in the Tempe Regional are Mississippi St. (40-20), Stony Brook (33-21-1) and Hawaii (38-18).

Game times for this weekend are TENTATIVELY as follows:

Friday, May 16th:

4:30pm - Mississippi St v. Hawaii

7:00pm - Stony Brook v. ASU

Saturday, May 17th:

2:00pm - Winner Game 1 v. Winner Game 2

4:30pm - Loser Game 1 v. Loser Game 2

7:00pm - Loser Game 3 v. Winner Game 4

Sunday, May 18th:

1:00pm - Winner Game 3 v. Winner Game 5

3:30pm - If necessary repeat of game 6

ASU softball clinches first Pac-10 title

ckussala — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:44:56 -0600

In their last regular season game at Farringon Stadium the Sun Devil Softball seniors led the way Saturday afternoon as they led their squad over the 23rd-ranked Cal Golden Bears 5-2 in front of 1,325 faithful to clinch their first-ever Pac-10 Championship. The win wraps the 2008 regular season for ASU with a record of 56-5 and 18-3 in the Pac-10 and drops Cal to 40-23 overall and 7-14 in the conference slate.

Sunday afternoon saw ASU light the spark early and never look back as they came out in the second inning to score three. Kristen Miller led the charge taking the first pitch she saw on the day deep to left center for her 14th home run of the season. That sparked the rally for the Sun Devils as Caylyn Carlson laid down a bunt single that was brought home by an RBI double from Rhiannon Baca who was plated herself by yet another double from Jackie Vasquez.

The Bears capitalized on a Sun Devil error though as they pushed an unearned run across in the fourth to cut ASU's lead to 3-1 before cutting it down to 3-2 in the fifth after routine pop-up got lost in the sun dropping in to allow one more Cal run to squeak in.

That was enough to get ASU on fire again in the fifth with Kaitlin Cochran leading off with a walk and Mindy Cowles hitting her 14th home run of the season and 56th of her career, nailing a 3-2 ball over the center field wall to put ASU ahead 5-2 for good.

Katie Burkhart closed out the game with a final tally of five hits and one earned run allowed with six strikeouts to take her 32nd win on the year and her 109th career win, tying her for 21st all-time in NCAA history.

The victory concludes the Sun Devils 2008 regular season, which has already proven to be a memorable one, just how memorable remains to be seen as the Sun Devils will host their annual Selection Show viewing party to see who they'll face in the NCAA Regionals tomorrow at Majerle's Sports Grill in Chandler at 7 p.m.

Johnson claims heptathlon at Pac-10 multis

ckussala — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:49:44 -0600

Jacquelyn Johnson won the women's heptathlon with a record score and Kyle Hitchcock placed 10th in the decathlon to lead the Arizona State University track and field team at the conclusion of the multi-events on Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe Saturday night at the 2008 Pac-10 Track & Field Championships presented by 76 Gasoline. The heptathlon and decathlon were held this weekend with the remaining events taking place in Tempe next weekend.

The events were scored toward the team race with the ASU women taking an early lead with 10 points and is followed by Oregon and Stanford, both of which have nine. The men's race has Oregon in front with 19 points while Washington State (eight) and Stanford (six) round out the Top 3. ASU has not scored yet on the men's side.

Johnson, a six-time NCAA champion, scored 6,307 points to win her third crown to become only the third woman in Pac-10 history to capture the heptathlon three times. Her point total also breaks the Pac-10 record of 6,205 set by Diana Pickler (WSU) last year, the Pac-10 meet record of 6,018 scored by Pickler last year and the stadium record of 6,129 points scored by ASU's Gea Johnson in 1990.

The younger Johnson reached her record total by hitting a jump of 6.30m on her first, and only, attempt in the long jump to score 943 points and break the previous heptathlon record of 6.24m held by Gea since 1990. Johnson then threw the javelin 48.50m on her first attempt to pick up 831 points and break her own school and heptathlon record in the event by nearly eight feet. In the final event, Johnson placed third in the 800m run in 2:19.33 to score 833 points and win the overall title by 551 points (Brianne Theisen, Oregon, 5765 points).

In the decathlon, Hitchcock opened the day with a personal best time of 16.34 in the 110m hurdles for 659 points before throwing the discus 35.99m for another 584 points. After clearing 3.35m in the pole vault to collect 444 points, Hitchcock closed out the day with a mark of 43.02m in the javelin (486 points) and a time of 5:28.02 in the 1,500m run (409 points). Overall, Ashton Eaton of Oregon won with 7,604 points and was followed in the Top 3 by Rickey Moody (WSU) and Josh Hustedt (Stanford), who scored 7,395 points and 7,181 points, respectively.

The Championships continue next Friday and Saturday in Tempe with the remaining individual events. The hammer leads off the competition each day at 10:30 a.m. with the remaining events starting both days at 5 p.m.

Humanities field helps scholars address sustainability issues

lambraki — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:08:26 -0600

Most people don’t think about the humanities and arts as playing a role when talking about sustainability. However, a group at the Polytechnic campus is showing the interconnectedness of both in discussions surrounding this topic.

The Polytechnic Sustainability Research Group, organized in April 2007 and co-led by Joni Adamson and Christopher Wharton, explores how scholars in the humanities are working with scholars in other fields to address the interdisciplinary challenges, opportunities and realities of creating a socially and ecologically sustainable world.

“We are breaking down boundaries between the arts, humanities and the sciences, at least as those boundaries are perceived in conversations about sustainability,” says Adamson, associate professor in Humanities and Arts in the School of Applied Arts and Sciences.

The group of 20 faculty, staff and students from several academic areas is brainstorming projects, seeking funding opportunities and pursuing grants for projects that will take place over the next several years.

Some of the projects the humanities and arts members have started include Joe Herkert’s work on the interplay between engineering ethics and sustainable development.

“Through this effort I am examining how engineers and professional engineering societies attempt to address sustainability in their work, including social and macroethical issues, such as social equity, cultural diversity and public participation,” says Herkert, Lincoln Associate Professor of Ethics and Technology. “The study of ethics, history, literature, and art can shed light on the human condition and the value choices/changes necessary for sustainable development.”

In June, Herkert will present on “Engineering Ethics and Climate Change” at the annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education.

In addition, April Summitt, assistant professor of history, is writing a book about the Colorado River and why environmental histories are key to discussions surrounding sustainability.

“Understanding metropolitan culture and how cities have used water over time helps scientists find solutions for the future,” argues Summitt.

“Tracing the ongoing struggle over allocations between states, tribal governments and agribusiness is essential to solving sustainability challenges for the Southwest.”

This month, Adamson presents “Coming Home to Eat: Re-imagining Place in the Age of Global Climate Change” at the Fourth International Conference on Ecodiscourse in Tamshui, Taiwan. (See “Eco-focused literature is the subject of Taiwan lecture tour” on page H3.)

The group also established a Community Sponsored Agriculture group, and is working with the Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) to create and fill a new position called the “sustainability desk” that will examine opportunities for creating a more sustainable culture at the Polytechnic campus.

And a recent public showing of “The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” an “artistic docudrama” about community sponsored farming, was used to help students understand food culture, politics and policies.

Wharton, an assistant professor in nutrition who focuses on issues surrounding policy and obesity, led a discussion after the movie, noting that documentaries such as “Farmer John” play an important role in the kind of message framing that can potentially change human behaviors and perceptions.

“For this reason, understanding the role the humanities and arts play when we address environmental issues is key to building a sustainable culture and society in the future,” he says.

For more information contact Adamson at (480) 727-1562 or joni.adamson@asu.edu.

NEH award recipient to research history of crime and punishment

sdesgeor — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:03:16 -0600

For ASU associate professor Stephen Toth, his recent recognition as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Award recipient amounts to being paid to play. After all, the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences modern European historian will receive a summer stipend to do what he enjoys most – researching and writing about the history of crime, punishment and violence in France.

“This is a real honor,” says Toth, whose work has appeared in such peer-reviewed journals as History of the Human Sciences, Journal of European Studies, Nineteenth-Century Contexts, and Crime, Histoire & Sociétés. “The funds provided through this endowment afford me the opportunity to get a two-month head start on my year-long sabbatical this summer, so it is very much appreciated.”

Toth is one of 149 applicants selected nationally in 2008 to receive $11.9 million in awards and offers extended by the NEH. He will use his endowment to fund archival research and writing in Paris and Tours, France, for his forthcoming book, “Rural Redemption: The Mettray Agricultural Colony for Boys, 1840-1939.” The study will examine life inside the controversial, privately operated Catholic institution for juvenile delinquents and the process by which it acquired a national and international reputation as a supposed exemplar of moral education, despite its harshly punitive tactics.

“This is a real testimony to the high quality of Stephen’s research,” says Elizabeth Langland, ASU vice president and dean of the New College.

“This is the type of work that typifies the best interdisciplinary research of the New College.

“His study of Mettray connects 150-year-old practices and beliefs that juvenile criminals can be rehabilitated through the power of the land to our own beliefs today and our practice of using rural, military-type facilities as a mode of juvenile rehabilitation.”

Toth says his upcoming exploration of Mettray has modern applications.

“Many states, including Arizona, and an untold number of for-profit and nonprofit groups opened – and continue to operate – rural, military-style camps to house and rehabilitate juvenile criminals. While proponents believe that such facilities are an innovative way to deal with a social malady seemingly unprecedented in scope, the idea and practice are actually rooted in a 150-year history that can be traced to Mettray.”

The Mettray study, says Toth, contributes to the humanities by helping to understand and contextualize contemporary debates surrounding juvenile crime and punishment in the United States. In recent years, social scientists, politicians and the mass media have focused on what they believe to be the growing problem of juvenile crime in America. Spurred in part by extreme forecasts that projected significant increases in juvenile crime rates, warnings of an impending “teenage crime storm,” particularly among young black and Hispanic males, predominated during the 1990s.

“The issues surrounding juvenile crime that were critical in 19th-century France bear a remarkable resemblance to many of those in the United States in the 21st century,” says Toth.

“In both eras – one beset by the material hardships associated with industrialization, the other by segments of the population mired in a seemingly insurmountable cycle of unemployment and poverty – there is a somewhat misplaced fear of a rising tide of juvenile crime. In this regard the agricultural colony has re-emerged as a means of addressing this perceived problem. Given that many of these institutions have, not unlike Mettray, also been accused of prisoner abuse and mismanagement, we need to understand the historical legacy of this correctional practice.

“In this regard, my work appeals to scholars of history, cultural studies, crime and criminology, as well as to policymakers who might seek a cultural and historical perspective on the topic.”

Toth notes his fascination with the French penal colonies, and particularly Mettray, was cultivated by French moral philosopher Michel Foucault, who authored “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Modern Prison.”

“I was always struck by the fact Foucault traced the birth of the modern prison to Mettray and that he believed Mettray represented the disciplinary form in which the art of punishment had been perfected,” says Toth, whose most recent work, “Beyond Papillon: The French Overseas Penal Colonies, 1854-1952,” was published in 2006 by the University of Nebraska Press as part of its “France Overseas” series.

“Foucault never really discussed the institution in any real depth, and there was very little published on the subject.

Located in the bucolic Loire valley, Mettray inspired the establishment of some 50 new institutions during the 1840s which made the agricultural colony the most common form of incarceration for juvenile delinquents in France. In fact, colonies based on the Mettray model were opened in Great Britain, the Netherlands and the U.S.

Mettray’s founders aimed to rehabilitate criminal youths through agricultural work, basic elementary schooling, and strict military discipline.

Delinquent children were removed not only from the common adult prisons where they were typically housed, but also from the perceived evil influences of the city. Toth’s research indicates that while Mettray promised benevolent reform it was not all it was reported to be. In fact, by the early 20th century, it had devolved from the reformist vision of its founders to a brutal custodial care facility.

“There was a shared belief that industrialization and urbanization had corrupted morality and was to blame for crime among adults and children,” Toth says. “Both the overseas penal colonies and the agricultural colonies shared a Rousseauian belief in the power of the land to rehabilitate the man. Whether tilling the soil of the Loire or clearing the jungle in French Guiana, this was a reaction to the birth of economic and social modernity in 19th-century France.

“Once it became clear that this romantic belief was untenable, however, both the overseas penal colonies and Mettray became criminal dumping grounds.”

Professor examines Bard’s work through colorblind lens

msjps — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:57:13 -0600

Should you notice, or shouldn’t you?

In a “colorblind” society, a black actor cast as Macbeth should not turn heads. The audience has come to enjoy a theater classic that is touted, like the rest of Shakespeare’s works, as a “universal play with timeless themes.”

Whether the actor is black, white, Asian or Native American should not make any difference.

But it’s not as simple as that, says Ayanna Thompson, an assistant professor of English and women and gender studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In “Colorblind Shakespeare: New Perspectives on Race and Performance,” which she edited in 2006, Thompson says that “the universality and timelessness of the Bard’s works are often tested when actors of color are involved.”

Beginning in 1821, when the African Theatre in New York, a company comprised of and for ex-slaves and the sons of ex-slaves, put on a production of “Richard III” white critics ridiculed the black actors, Thompson said, writing that Shakespeare’s language was deemed “too difficult for these uneducated ex-slaves.”

A white audience member complained that it was too much for frail flesh and blood to see an absolute Negro strut in with so much dignity, bellowing forth.

Fast-forward to the 1960s. Critics of a multiracial casting of “Antony and Cleopatra” said: “Negro actors often lack even the rudiments of standard American speech” and “they do not look right in parts that historically demand white performers.”

Over that time span of 150 years, not much changed, Thompson says, and even today, “audiences don’t come to productions color-blind. We may desire to be a colorblind society, but we’re not there.”

She cites an example of Clarence Smith, a black actor who was cast as the King of France in the Royal Shakespeare’s colorblind production of “King Lear” in 1991.

A Frenchwoman in the all-white audience heckled the actor as he spoke his first lines, and continued yelling comments throughout the production. The woman explained that she thought it was “a disgrace that a black man was playing the King of France,” the actor later explained.

And when Denzel Washington played Brutus in a fairly recent Broadway production of “Julius Caesar” there was an audible gasp when he kissed the white actress who played his wife, Thompson said during an interview on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.”

The Bard himself contributes to some awkward moments in supposedly colorblind productions of his works.

Shakespeare’s plays are “riddled with racist comments, both Jewish and black, that put the actor of color in an awkward position,” Thompson says. “Directors must decide, if they cast a black actor, for example, whether to take the offending line out.”

Reviewers also have difficulty sometimes with colorblind productions, Thompson noted in an article she wrote for Borrowers & Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation.

Thompson says, “Josette Simon, who made a name for herself playing classical theatrical roles in the 1980s and early 1990s, is quoted as saying, “I find critics calling me black Josette Simon, as if there were a white Josette Simon knocking about somewhere. They wouldn’t dream of talking about white Anthony Sher.’”

Will there be a time when colorblind casting or what Thompson describes as the “meritocratic model” in which “talent trumps all other aspects of an actor’s personhood” is the norm?

Lisa M. Anderson, an associate professor of women and gender studies and theater at ASU, wrote a chapter in “Colorblind Shakespeare” titled “When Race Matters: Reading Race in Richard III and Macbeth.”

She said that while the pursuit of an antiracist society and the eradication of the concept of white supremacy is vitally important, a world where skin color did not mean anything would not have a history in which race was a central category.

Race is not only about skin color, but it is a cultural construct, she said. As such, while racial dividing lines have been used to discriminate; they have also served to create an identity for those who are racialized.

Anderson said, “race mattered” in her high school drama club, “but not so much. The faculty advisors had no problem casting me in a role that did not specify someone of a particular race.” The high school musical theater club, however, “insulted” her by casting her as Bloody Mary in “South Pacific.”

And when she sought a role in her college’s summer theater, she was told there were no parts for black actresses that summer. “Enraged, I dropped my theatre major in favor of political science and vowed to become a playwright and write good roles for black women,” she said.

Today, “we remain acutely aware of race, and the privileges that a ‘lack’ of race (i.e.) whiteness bestows. We are unable to pretend that a black person, on stage or in a film, is not a black person.”

Thompson, herself an actress, said, “Although I did not know it at the time, I benefited from colorblind casting practices in high school and college. I played everything from an Angel in ‘Anything Goes’ to Marty Maraschino in ‘Grease.’ Thinking back to my teenage years, I know it would have been a bitter pill to swallow if I had been told that I could not play a ‘white character.’ I did not see race in acting roles; I only saw the roles themselves.

“In addition, I was and still am deeply committed to the idea that black actors and actresses should have as many opportunities as their white counterparts. Why should talented thespians like Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Samuel L. Jackson have to wait around for specifically designated ‘black roles’?”

And Thompson says she, herself, does not want to be viewed in a “colorblind” manner.

“I wonder if being ‘blind’ to race and ethnicity is even desirable. Being black is so much a part of my identity that I am offended when people say they do not notice race, color or ethnicity. My race informs the way I experience the world in so many complex ways that I do not want it whited out or ‘e-raced’ by others.”

New school takes innovative steps in language learning

brit18 — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:45:58 -0600

This kind of foreign language education systematically teaches differences in meaning, mentality, and worldview…. In this course of acquiring functional language abilities, students are taught critical language awareness, interpretation and translation, historical and political consciousness, social sensibility, and aesthetic perception.
They learn to comprehend speakers of the target language as members of foreign societies and to grasp themselves as Americans – that is, as members of a society that is foreign to others.
–“Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World,” May 2007

A little more than three years ago, leaders at Arizona State University empowered a group of faculty members from the Department of Languages and Literatures and other units to plan a new school that would preserve and enhance a traditional education in language, literature and culture while at the same time providing the opportunity for students to embark upon an innovative, transdisciplinary learning experience.

Their approach to the teaching of language and culture, as it turns out, prefigured in several ways the approach to languages and cultures advocated a few years later in an important Modern Language Association (MLA) Report on foreign languages in higher education.

After months of collaborative effort by dozens of faculty members and final approval by the Arizona Board of Regents, the School of International Letters and Cultures (SILC) replaced the Department of Languages and Literatures in the summer of 2007, approximately the same time the MLA released “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World.”

The report emphasized the integral relationship between language and culture as opposed to an overly narrow and utilitarian approach to languages that have been the norm.

“What is interesting is that plans were already taking shape at ASU that clearly anticipated many of the recommendations that appeared in the MLA Report,” says Robert Joe Cutter, founding director of the school and professor of Chinese.

“We were responding to elements of President Michael Crow’s design for the New American University and operating from a belief that a new structure could better provide superior training in languages, literature and culture, while at the same time facilitating study and research that could transcend cultural and disciplinary boundaries,” Cutter says.

The school is among several recently assembled schools at ASU, but it is the only one situated in the humanities. Organized into five faculties

– Classics and Middle Eastern Letters & Cultures; East and Southeast Asian Letters & Cultures; French and Italian Letters & Cultures; German, Romanian and Slavic Letters & Cultures; and Spanish and Portuguese Letters & Cultures – SILC boasts more than 20 language specializations, nine undergraduate degree programs, six certificate programs, four master degree programs and a doctoral degree program in Spanish. The school also has a Linguistics and Language Program that serves in part to promote best practices in language teaching and to provide professional development opportunities to language professionals on and off campus.

“Many observers have lamented America’s general lack of knowledge about other countries and cultures and our inability to see the world as others see it,” says Cutter. “Of course, there is no better solution to this problem than the study of other languages and cultures.”
Increasing language enrollments nationally over the past five years reflect a growing awareness on the part of students of the value of foreign language and culture study. Of the 13 percent enrollment growth, Arabic and Chinese experienced the largest gains, says Cutter. He adds that Spanish, French and German remain the most popular languages to study.

The school fulfills another MLA recommendation in its cross-disciplinary research.

“Language and literature scholars tend to be interdisciplinary by nature,” Cutter says. To allow students to cross the boundaries between languages and disciplines, a new transdisciplinary bachelor’s degree program is in its final stage of approval, and a transdisciplinary doctorate degree is in the planning stages.

“This is not just about teaching language – it is about history, culture, globalization,” says ASU President Michael Crow. “We need to move away from the notion that we are simply creatures of social constructs.

“It’s a significant part of a rapid period of evolution here at ASU where we’ve asked the deans and the faculty to work together to evolve those communities of scholars and communities of teachers to have an opportunity to be transformative.”

The school’s ongoing Work-in-Progress Lecture Series gives faculty and other members of the school further opportunities to discuss and conceptualize prominent cultural discourses. Advanced classes to be taught in Chinese in cooperation with the history department and other units are under development, and there are plans to offer such “content” courses in other languages, as well. As recommended in the report, a number of the school’s faculty members also work with K-12 educators to bolster language learning, and faculty train students in effective translation and interpretation practices.

It is only the beginning for the School of International Letters and Cultures. The school’s insightful leadership and commitment to a global education in the 21st century have offered a promising first chapter to its future.

Sun Angel Scholarship funds research in the humanities

evelasco — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:11:26 -0600

From teachers using Japanese comic books in the classroom to “green” advertising to a controversial moment in the history of the American Revolution revisited through a gender lens, students majoring in the humanities study unusual and interesting topics with funding from a Sun Angel Foundation research award.

Stefanie Craig, Kendra Kennedy and Ginger Hanson are the 2007-2008 recipients of the Sun Angel Excellence in the Humanities Research Scholarship. The scholarship provides undergraduate students in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences a chance to pursue a research project related to their majors and also their personal interests. The award requires that the research culminates in a scholarly article or related form of publication.

For Craig, who received a bachelor’s degree in English this past December, the chance to study a topic she loves was the best part of her project. “Manga is something I’ve been interested in for over a decade,” Craig says.

Manga are Japanese comic books, read by people of all ages. They can be about anything – fantasy or science fiction, romance or school life. Craig, who also speaks Japanese, focused her research on how teachers of young adult literature can use this popular medium in classrooms.

“My main goal is to give educators, parents and any interested party a look into what manga actually is; its history, themes, characters, archetypes and structure,” she says.

Craig’s findings are published in the April 2008 eighth edition of “Literature for Today’s Young Adults,” a textbook written by Alleen Pace Nilsen, an ASU English professor, and Kenneth L. Donelson, an ASU Professor Emeritus of English education.

Kennedy, a senior with a double major in history and women and gender studies, became interested in her topic after stumbling across in her readings a reference to the Meschianza, an elaborate party thrown by the British Army in Philadelphia in 1778. Curiosity piqued, Kennedy made her first archival research trip to Philadelphia, which revealed intriguing gendered aspects of the event and the after effects on the Revolution.

The research will serve to illustrate the role that gender and culture had on political events that shaped United States history, Kennedy says.

Combining both of her majors into one project is what Hanson found so interesting about her analysis of ecological and environmental language and rhetoric in advertising. Hanson, a junior with a double major in English and conservation biology, is able to put both disciplines to work in her research.

“It was not until I noticed my heart rate was picking up every time I viewed an ‘eco-friendly’ advertisement on television that I realized I had to propose a project based on analyzing the rhetoric employed in such ads,” Hanson says.

All three scholarship recipients intend to go on to do graduate level research.

“What began as a curiosity about the Meschianza and an experimental research trip has become the basis for my graduate school studies,” Kennedy says.

Hanson said the experience gave her newfound confidence.

“It felt good to be trusted to plan and conduct my own study, and my mentor gave me great advice along the way that I will be able to put to use in future studies,” Hanson says. Her mentor is Peter Goggin, assistant professor of English, rhetoric and composition

The Sun Angel Foundation is an organization that was founded in 1946 to provide financial aid to outstanding scholar athletes. It has since extended its support to students throughout the university, including the humanities.

Kennedy describes the humanities as the way humans can “explore and understand the human experience.”

“I am constantly amazed by the social, cultural, political and economic dynamics that interact in society,” Kennedy says.

“The humanities are dedicated to who we are, and where we come from in a different way from natural sciences and other subjects,” Craig says. However, there are more reasons to study the humanities than simply academic pursuits, she claims.

“We also study it, of course, for fun.”

Ashley Lange, ashley.lange@asu.edu
480-965-1441
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Tirosh-Samuelson to become director of Jewish Studies

chughes3 — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:48:13 -0600

When asked why a public university should teach Jewish Studies, the incoming director of ASU’s program doesn’t hesitate with her response.

“There is no way to understand the story of humanity, let along the story of the West, without telling the story of the Jews and the story of Judaism. The story of the Jewish people is nearly as old as human written records. Judaism developed side by side with the Christian interpretation of the Judaic heritage, and there is no way to understand Western, Christian culture without its Judaic foundation,” says Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, who will assume the position of director of Jewish Studies at ASU on Aug. 16.

Tirosh-Samuelson, who has been at ASU since 1999, is a professor and associate chair in the history department. In the director’s position, she will hold the Irving and Miriam Lowe Professorship in Modern Jewish Studies and will remain an active member of the history department.

“One the attractive aspects of the director of Jewish Studies position is the convergence between ASU’s growth trajectory and the interests and needs of the Jewish community in metropolitan Phoenix,” Tirosh-Samuelson says.

In sharing her vision with members of the faculty and the community, Tirosh-Samuelson says that Jewish Studies at ASU will focus on research, teaching and community outreach.

“At ASU, Jewish Studies will offer a new and creative model to integrate a Jewish perspective into all relevant disciplines and academic units, including history, religious studies, political science, justice studies, international languages and cultures, media and film studies, and law,” she says.

Tirosh-Samuelson would like to see develop new subjects, discourses and emphases within the program, specifically in the areas of Judaism and science, Judaism and environmentalism, Jewish history as global history, Judaism and liberalism, and Judaism and the arts.

As part of the community outreach, Jewish Studies will organize monthly seminars on campus, as well as art exhibits, either on campus or in synagogues.

Tirosh-Samuelson was born in Kibbutz Afikim, Israel, and served three years in the Israeli army. She has a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and mysticism from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the Stony Brook University. This past November, the university recognized her with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

Tirosh-Samuelson’s research focuses on medieval and early-modern Jewish intellectual history with an emphasis on the interplay between philosophy and mysticism.

Among her published works, Tirosh-Samuelson is the author of “Between Worlds – The Life and Thought of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon,” which was awarded the best work in Jewish history published in 1991 by the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and “Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge, and Well Being” (2003). She also is the editor for “Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word” (2002), “Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy” (2004), and “The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life” (2008).

She is the recipient of a $500,000 grant for the Templeton Research Lectures on the Constructive Engagement of Science and Religion – a three-year project titled “Facing the Challenges of Transhumanism: Religion, Science, and Technology.”

“Transhumanism is inherently interdisciplinary, as is the nature of Jewish Studies,” Tirosh-Samuelson says. “To understand Judaism, the Jews, Jewish civilization, one is called to do interdisciplinary work.

“My interest in transhumanism is part of a larger and deeper commitment to the dialogue of science and religion, which is rooted in the conviction that, historically and conceptually, science and religion are not antagonistic but intertwining cultural forces,” she says.

“In her new role as director of Jewish Studies Dr. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson brings with her both a national vision for the program and first-hand experience from some of the leading programs in Jewish Studies in the country: Emory University, Columbia University, and Indiana University,” says Deborah Losse, dean of humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Her stature in the field is such that her work to advance the program will attract the attention of major scholars in Jewish Studies both in the United State and abroad.”

Tirosh-Samuelson steps into the directorship, a position vacated in 2005 with the departure of Jack Kugelmass. Since that time, Joel Gereboff, chair of ASU’s Department of Religious Studies, has been serving as interim director.

“With the appointment of Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson as the director of the Jewish Studies program we will be able to move forward on our goal of raising the international profile of the program, which will be of great benefit for many individuals on campus, the community and many areas of inquiry in general,” Gereboff says. “She brings with her a stellar international reputation as a scholar and an already very strong record of leadership and ability to work with and motivate others."

Study looks at Arizona’s 'Megapolitan' future

nhaas — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:07:38 -0600

Two out of three Americans are expected to live in just 20 “megapolitan” areas in about 30 years, and one of these megapolitans – the Sun Corridor – is in Arizona.

Arizona already is one of the most urban and fastest-growing states, and much of its projected growth is expected to be in the Sun Corridor, which stretches from Santa Cruz and Cochise counties to the center of Yavapai County.

“Megapolitan: Arizona’s Sun Corridor,” a report just released by Morrison Institute for Public Policy at ASU, is the first comprehensive analysis of this new geography. The Morrison Institute’s Grady Gammage Jr., Rob Melnick and Nancy Welch wrote the report along with ASU’s John Stuart Hall and Robert E. Lang of Virginia Tech.

People have been predicting for 50 years that Phoenix and Tucson would grow together into one giant desert conglomerate. A diverse pattern of land ownership in central and southern Arizona most likely will prevent that. But what is happening now, according to the report, is that the economies of metropolitan Phoenix and metropolitan Tucson are merging. With about 5 million people now and nearly 8 million projected for 2030, the Sun Corridor will be at the heart of Arizona’s expansion – and the state’s opportunities and challenges, too.

Predictions of growth are not new. But because growth and development are happening nationwide at an unprecedented pace, the “mega” concept is moving into the mainstream of public policy and planning.

“The megapolitan concept is powerful in part because it reinforces the strength of fundamental forces shaping Arizona and the world,” Melnick says, adding that its strength lies in the recognition that an economic merger brought on by overlapping community patterns and shared interests is more important than a physical one.

How the Sun Corridor will change in the short term depends largely on choices in five “megaton” areas:

• Global connections.

• Governance.

• The “trillion-dollar questions” related to residential and commercial development plus infrastructure.

• Water.

• Quality of life.

The report concludes with a critical question: “Do you want to live in the Sun Corridor?”

Adds Gammage: “The future of the Sun Corridor isn’t inevitably either rosy or bleak. It is what we make it. What can we do collectively to make the Sun Corridor somewhere we want to stay?”

“Megapolitan: Arizona’s Sun Corridor” is one of the first reports in the nation to analyze one megapolitan area. Robert Lang, co-director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech and a visiting ASU scholar in 2006, helped develop the megapolitan concept in 2005 as part of projecting where the next 100 million Americans would live. Lang’s definition is based on economic interdependence, population and the U.S. Census Bureau’s “combined statistical area” designation.

To download “Megapolitan: Arizona’s Sun Corridor,” visit the Web site www.morrisoninstitute.org.

Funding for the report was provided by the Stardust Foundation, Arizona Public Service Corp., Salt River Project, and the UniSource Energy Corp. family of companies: Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services.

The Morrison Institute for Public Policy conducts research that informs, advises, and assists Arizonans. It is a part of the ASU School of Public Affairs and College of Public Programs.

Faculty develop Spanish screener for language disorders

evelasco — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:32:00 -0600

Two faculty members in ASU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Science and a faculty member in the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education has been awarded a $1.6 million grant to develop a Spanish language screening measure to identify children at risk for language impairment. The four-year grant has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences.

There are currently no measures of language impairment designed specifically for Spanish speaking children. Existing tools have been translated from English to Spanish with the assumption that a translation is a valid measure. However, the tools do not take into account, changes in language complexity, cultural background or literacy. This can result in unidentified language impairment in children who need treatment or in children who have typical language abilities being identified as having a language disorder.

“Tests that are available now are culturally or linguistically biased,” says Laida Restrepo, associate professor in the department of speech and hearing science.

“They are based on experience. So if you don’t know the vocabulary or if you don’t know the forms that others are using, you are penalized. Because these children don’t have the same experiences as English-speaking children or may not have the advantage of a highly literate environment, a screener is needed that recognizes these differences.”

Shelley Gray, a speech and hearing associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is on Restrepo’s team, along with Joanna Gorin, assistant professor in the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education.

“With the current instruments, children are not being accurately identified. When children are tested outside of their native language with improper tools, it raises an issue of validity,” says Gorin, an expert in educational assessment design and analysis.

The team will develop dynamic tasks for the screener that will control for experience and culture.

“We are developing tasks that evaluate language and evaluate abilities that could contribute to the problem a child’s having. Dynamic learning tasks assess how your brain is functioning while you learn the new material. And that is different than most tests that evaluate knowledge at one point in time. But dynamic learning tasks actually allow you to watch children learn something new and see the problem by the mistakes a child makes, or the amount of effort it takes for the task,” notes Gray.

Gorin will help create the new screening measure in Spanish working with Spanish language items, for children ages four to eight, generated by Restrepo and Gray. She said this unique collaboration exemplifies the benefit of leveraging expert knowledge from different disciplines.

“This is an exciting project for me because it really hits on my primary emphasis, which is merging substantive theory with assessment design and analysis. So few projects I work on can do that,” Gorin says. “It’s incredibly important to start out with a well-specified model of what you’re trying to measure or it’s basically going to have a lot of noise and error in it.”

The goal is to design an assessment that is easy to administer and score by paraprofessionals in Arizona schools.

Notes Restrepo, “There are still not enough highly qualified bilingual personnel in Arizona schools. So often you have people with a high school degree working as a teacher’s aide or paraprofessional. We want them to be able to administer the screener easily, without requiring knowledge of technical information.”

The hope is to develop a universal screening tool for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students across the United States and for speech-language pathologists to assess first- through-second-grade students who have been referred by teachers, physicians or parents.

The belief is that early and accurate identification of learning impairment risk will lead to timely evaluation, identification and treatment. As a result, English language learners can be more successful academically, which ultimately impacts academic achievement in U.S. schools.

“Often times we get referrals of Latino children who are already too far behind in their education. So this screener will help identify children at risk and provide them with services early and access the services they should be receiving,” says Restrepo.

Adds Gorin, “Pre-school and school aged children should be screened as soon as they go to school. It’s really important for early intervention. The earlier children that have disorders get help the better you can prevent children from failing in school, and as Laida said, it has clinical application and it has educational application for our own research and others as well.”

“As speech-pathologists know, there are no validated language screening measures available for Spanish-speaking children. Now there will be a tool that researchers and speech-language pathologists can use to identify children at risk for language impairment.”

Verina Martin, verina.martin@asu.edu

480-965-4911

Mary Lou Fulton College of Education

ASU graduates celebrate excellence

sjkeele1 — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:44:06 -0600

A record 8,000 students celebrated their graduation from Arizona State University May 8 surrounded by their family, friends, teachers and the university community.

It was near full house at Wells Fargo Arena, as this year’s class surpassed 2007 by at least a thousand.

ASU President Michael Crow congratulated the students and challenged them with their last “assignment.”

“This not the end, it is the beginning,” Crow said. “I give you four challenges. One, try to focus on solving problems instead of talking or complaining about them. Two, focus on making our country more competitive and sustainable. Three, be of service. And four, continually learn and think critically to solve problems.”

Included among the graduates was the largest-ever class of 243 nurses, along with 900 teachers, 675 engineers, 210 lawyers, 600 business undergraduates and 550 MBAs.

From the School of Design came 390 architects, designers and urban planners. The Walter Cronkite School educated 188 journalists, and the Herberger College of the Arts graduated 328 artists, musicians, dancers, theater and film professionals, and scholars and historians of the arts.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences boasted more than 2,000 graduates from 41 majors, with political science the most popular bachelor’s degree awarded.

Several student “exemplars of excellence” -- Ana and Jennifer Ramirez, Taylor Spears and Samantha Winter -- were recognized.

The recipient of the year’s honorary degree, James J. Duderstadt, president emeritus at the University of Michigan and a leader in the changing landscape of higher education, left the graduates with this message: “Approach life as an opportunity for adventure and risk. While you are facing problems and challenges incomprehensible to my generation, you also are facing a future of extraordinary excitement and optimism.”

Middleton appointed to lead new education vision

sjkeele1 — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:30:23 -0600

ASU will be creating and executing a new vision for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in Arizona, and James Middleton, professor of mathematics education, curriculum and instruction, will lead the charge.

Middleton, a member of the ASU faculty for 14 years, has been appointed associate senior vice provost for STEM education improvement. He will be working with George Hynd, senior vice provost for education and innovation and dean of the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, on facilitating new directions for STEM education across the university.

Most recently director of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, Middleton was responsible for leading approximately 100 faculty members in a department that is ranked 14th nationally and fourth nationally in research productivity.

“Dr. Middleton is exactly the right person to lead this ASU effort as he recognizes the critical economic and social importance of attracting more highly qualified students into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplnes,” Hynd says. “As an internationally recognized mathematics educator who has a reputation for attracting external funding to study best educational practices, he understands the critical importance of educating students in the P-12 arena so that they maintain their natural curiosities in science and mathematics.”

“Together with our teacher education colleagues at the West and Poly campuses, Dr. Middleton will work to bring together the intellectual resources in teacher education across ASU to increase the number of highly qualified teachers in mathematics and science education,” says Betty Capaldi, ASU Provost. “Our goal is a university wide vision that fosters new directions in STEM education in ways that benefit both the university and the larger public community.”

In the short term, Middleton will be meeting with faculty groups to learn about existing projects and explore new opportunities to design and deploy STEM teacher education programs.

Middleton’s office also will lead the university’s long-range planning regarding funding and research opportunities in STEM education and will support faculty in the procurement of external funding

“ASU is a unique place in this country. Nearly everywhere you look you find renowned faculty engaged in trying to improve our P-20 learning, instruction and public awareness of STEM principles and new scientific discoveries.” Middleton says. “I want my office to be a venue for faculty to dream up solutions to the problems of STEM education and to invent new possibilities for innovation in teaching, learning and technology. We will be a system of support ready to plug them into partnerships, will offer seed funding to pilot new ideas, and will provide an infrastructure so that faculty can offload some of the burden of administration and get to what makes them happy -- doing the intellectual and creative work of STEM improvement.”

In addition to working internally, Middleton will lead efforts to coordinate STEM outreach and community engagement in collaboration with research and academic units and will work with ASU Foundation to build private investment.

“ASU was a great place when I came here as an assistant professor, and it has gotten better each and every year,” Middleton says. “There is no other place that gives such license to take risks for the sake of innovation. We are designing my office to embody this sense of collegiality and commitment to creativity and impact.”

Professor’s book delivers facts on drug smuggling

mattcrum — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:00:00 -0600

The image of cocaine being smuggled into the United States from Latin America by sophisticated organizations with corporate-like structures is largely a myth, according to a new book co-authored by an Arizona State University professor.

Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling: Lessons from the Inside (Temple University Press) is based on interviews Scott Decker and Margaret Townsend Chapman conducted with 34 drug smugglers serving long sentences in federal prison. Decker is director of ASU’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice; Chapman is an associate at Abt Associates Inc.

Interviewees were serving an average sentence of 18 years; all were arrested for smuggling at least 800 pounds of cocaine (one had 10,000 pounds of the drug). The authors learned details of how individuals are recruited into smuggling, why they stay in it, and how their roles change over time. Interviewees described specific smuggling strategies and how they previously escaped detection.

“One of our key findings was how disorganized Latin American smuggling operations really are,” Decker says. “Rather than having a complex pyramid structure, these are ‘flat’ organizations consisting of small, self-contained cells. Any one individual who is a link in the chain, from the grower to the processor to the transporter, knows only the other links in the chain he deals with directly.

“This is part of the strength of these groups. It’s not difficult to replace one link in the chain who may be arrested or otherwise eliminated. And he can’t provide information enabling authorities to take down a large smuggling network.”

“Scott Decker and Margaret Townsend Chapman have made a major contribution to our understanding of the underworld of international drug smuggling,” says Richard Wright of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling is a master work that must be read by anyone with a serious interest in the control and containment of illicit drugs.”

Adds Paul Cromwell of Wichita State University, “The study views the government’s efforts at deterrence from the perspective of the smugglers themselves, offering a unique approach to the issue.”

Decker and his co-author conclude their book with recommendations for U.S. law enforcement authorities. Among them are the need to publicize in the Caribbean and South America the long prison sentences awaiting smugglers who are apprehended, and to avoid being trapped by old operational models or fixed images of dynamic problems. Finally, the authors point to perhaps the most conspicuous and difficult way to reduce international drug smuggling – finding ways to reduce demand for illegal drugs in the United States.

The research Decker and Chapman present in their book was funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs Service. “We also are indebted to staff at the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Bureau of Prisons, without whose cooperation the interviews would not have been accomplished,” Decker says.

Decker is the author of a dozen books on topics including gangs, juvenile justice, and criminal justice policy. He directs the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, housed in ASU’s College of Human Services on the West campus. Details about the school and its bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs are available at http://chs.asu.edu/ccj/.

ASU, Notre Dame to play football In Texas

ckussala — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:47:56 -0600

Arizona State University and Notre Dame have completed an agreement for a college football game to be played in Arlington, Texas, on October 5, 2013, Vice President for University Athletics Lisa Love announced Thursday. The game will be played at the yet-to-be-completed Dallas Cowboys Stadium. It is currently under construction and will open in the summer of 2009. With a capacity of 80,000 fans, it will be home to Super Bowl XLV following the 2011 NFL season as well as the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl.

The contest is one of a series of future off-site "home" games for the Fighting Irish over the next decade.

"We are excited to participate in this unique college football event in the new, state-of-the-art, stadium the Dallas Cowboys are building in Arlington," says Love. "We believe this will be a magnificent game for our fans and alumni. Our coaching staff recruits the state of Texas and this will only serve to assist in that area."

The Cowboys and the AT&T Cotton Bowl will combine to manage and market the game. ASU will receive an allotment of tickets for the game. NBC Sports will have the live television rights to the game, as with other Notre Dame home games.

ASU and Notre Dame already have an existing home/home series schedule for October 25, 2014, in Tempe and for September 16, 2017, in South Bend.

ASU and Notre Dame have met twice previously, with the Fighting Irish winning 28-9 in Tempe in 1998 and 48-17 in South Bend in 1999.