Bringing her latest research into the classroom, , associate professor in the University of 91�Թ�’s , is helping undergraduate students make a connection between politics and biology.

Javeline’s new course, “The Politics of Adapting to Climate Change,” was born of the work she is doing with 91�Թ� biologists and to measure the scientific community’s opinions about managed relocation, a developing mode of wildlife conservation that involves moving threatened species from their natural but changing habitats to new, more climatically suitable ones.

“What’s interesting is that because the class is based on real-time research, I don’t always have an answer for students,” Javeline says. “I can’t say, ‘Having done all this research, I know that managed relocation works and that it’s a good idea.’

“But,” she adds, “it’s a great starting point for conversation.”

Javeline, an expert in survey research, has spent much of her career focusing on mass political behavior and the politics of post-Soviet and other post-communist regimes. About four years ago, Hellman and McLachlan sought her survey expertise for their adaptation to climate change initiative, and the “side project” soon became a major interest.

“Climate change adaptation — the reduction of vulnerability to climate change — is perhaps the single most understudied political world problem,” Javeline says, “and I would like to devote a significant portion of my future scholarship to correcting this deficit.”

To further her work in this area, she has received grants from the National Science Foundation as well as the .

She was also awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation , which assists faculty members in the humanities and social sciences “who seek to acquire systematic training outside their own areas of special interest.” The fellowship allowed her to expand her knowledge base by taking courses across 91�Թ�, tackling everything from advanced biology and environmental risk to environmental law and climate change law.

As a political scientist, Javeline says she is deeply interested in the political ramifications of climate change, and her new course focuses on just those sorts of questions.

She draws on her research with Hellmann and McLachlan, as well as work from other scholars, to form the course’s core. Her students then study this material, and analyze it from multiple angles — including that of a political scientist and a policymaker.

Students in the class also get the mind-opening opportunity to engage with research outside their primary discipline.

“I don’t think many political scientists have occasion to think this much about science and how you need to bring science into policy,” Javeline says.

Senior Chelsea Nobriga, a major in political science and environmental science, says the class has given her new insights into the understudied intersection between politics and climate change.

“I really have enjoyed getting a different perspective on climate change from an unlikely source: a political scientist,” she says. “There needs to be more interdisciplinary collaboration surrounding climate change so that meaningful and sustainable methods to adapt to climate change can be implemented.”

Christina Gutierrez

Sophomore Christina Gutierrez, who studies political science, French and Italian, says the course has opened her eyes to the complexity of adapting to climate change.

“I’ve learned how incredibly difficult decisions and policies can be to instate, particularly as they relate to the short-term and long-term effects of climate change.”

The real-time aspect of the class is particularly exciting, she adds. “We’re not depending on textbooks that were published years ago for information, but rather up-to-date documents that we know are being used to make decisions in policy right now in the U.S. and the rest of the world.”

Javeline says that the questions the course poses are difficult and that straightforward answers are hard to come by, if not impossible. But for students, she says, learning how to thoughtfully consider these problems is critically important.

“This is hard. It is a huge puzzle, and no one has easy answers,” she says. “But my students now have a foundation to engage these questions.

“Policymakers don’t always have evidence at their disposal, and sometimes they have to make decisions anyway. The class is a place to discuss that: how you make decisions in positions of uncertainty.”

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Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on Nov. 28, 2012.

, associate dean for the arts in the University of 91�Թ�’s and McMeel Family Professor in Shakespeare Studies in the College’s , has been selected to receive the 2012 .

The highest teaching honor in the College, the Sheedy award was founded in 1970 in honor of , who served as dean of the College of Arts and Letters from 1951-69.

“I’m delighted by the choice of Peter Holland as this year’s Sheedy award winner,” said , I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “Peter’s eloquence makes him a riveting lecturer, and even conversation partner, for undergraduates and graduate students alike.

Peter Holland

“His infectious enthusiasm for the work of our students beyond the formal classroom — most notably in 91�Թ�’s nationally acclaimed — has had a transforming effect. His presence and his passion for the arts have made many of our recent advances in the arts possible.”

The award ceremony took place Dec. 5 at the 91�Թ� Conference Center in McKenna Hall.

Holland, a concurrent professor in the , is an internationally recognized expert on Shakespeare in performance, and his contributions to scholarship, teaching and performance are as impressive as they are expansive.

He spent 28 years at Trinity Hall, part of the University of Cambridge, where he served as a member of the faculty after having received both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees. Before coming to 91�Թ� in 2007, he was director of The Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

In 2009, Holland was named an honorary fellow at his alma mater — an honor bestowed on only a select group of people, including renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.

Despite these and many other accomplishments, Holland says he was “amazed” to learn he won the Sheedy Award.

“In a place that doesn’t value teaching, a teaching award doesn’t mean much. But in a place that does, like 91�Թ�, it’s the most extraordinary honor,” he says.

The students and faculty who nominated Holland lauded him “as an inspiring, energetic teacher who demands the best from his students and who sparks their intellectual curiosity,” says JoAnn DellaNeva, the College’s associate dean for undergraduate studies and professor of French.

“Professor Holland is a remarkable individual who, despite having a very busy schedule, has never ceased to prioritize his students,” one student remarked.

Another student nominator says Holland “continually stunned me with his knowledge and his contagious passion for Shakespeare.”

That contagious passion began for Holland when he was just 9 years old, and his parents took him to Shakespeare performances at Stratford-upon-Avon.

“I am unashamedly stage-struck,” says Holland. “I get excited going into any theater. I meet actors and I think, ‘These are astonishing beings, how do they do that?’”

Holland’s goal, he says, is to encourage in his students a similar enthusiasm.

“If an excellent teacher doesn’t get students excited, then something is not working,” Holland says. “The teaching should resonate beyond the topic of the class; it’s about more than a narrowly defined academic topic.

“One of our responsibilities in the arts at 91�Թ� is to give students an arts habit for life — a kind of art appetite.”

The pleasure Holland gains from teaching comes from working alongside smart students not only as a professor but also as a partner in learning, he says. “It’s not about me. It’s about something that happens between me and the students.”

91�Թ� students engage differently, Holland adds.

“They are concerned about ethical issues in a way you do not get in other schools, and that’s highly significant. It’s a different type of discussion in the classroom.”

Besides being a beloved professor, Holland is a prolific writer. His books include “English Shakespeares: Shakespeare on the English Stage in the 1990s” and “The Ornament of Action: Text and Performance in Restoration Comedy.” In 2007, he completed publication of a five-volume series of collections of essays titled “Redefining British Theatre History.” From 2007-08, he served as president of the Shakespeare Association of America.

Holland has also edited many of Shakespeare’s plays including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for the Oxford Shakespeare series. He also is co-general editor of the Oxford Shakespeare Topics series and of an 18-volume series on “Great Shakespeareans.” His new edition of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” for the prestigious Arden Shakespeare appears next month.

Although he is himself an accomplished scholar, Holland says he continues to learn from his students. “When I take students to see a particular Shakespeare production, I’ve never seen it before; I have to work on it with them. This working alongside is beneficial.”

And, he adds with a laugh, “I’ve never been to an American high school … so when we work on a movie like ‘10 Things I Hate About You,’ which is ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ set in an American high school, the students understand the culture in a way that I simply don’t, so they have to explain things to me.

“I’m still learning — even with a film I’ve taught a number of times,” he says. “That’s fun.”

Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on Nov. 30, 2012.

Pioneering journalist Ted Koppel will visit the University of 91�Թ� on Oct. 12 (Friday) for a public discussion of contemporary journalism, politics and world affairs. Sponsored by 91�Թ�’s , the talk will begin at 1 p.m. in the Hesburgh Library auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Koppel’s career spans more than half a century. He started as a broadcaster at WMCA Radio in New York, then in 1963 became a correspondent for ABC News Radio, where one of his first assignments was covering President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

He is best known, however, as managing editor and host of ABC News’ “Nightline,” according to , the Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Chair in American Studies and Journalism and director of the Gallivan program. Koppel led “Nightline” from 1980 until 2005.

“‘Nightline’ established new standards in television news by examining subjects in depth, largely because of Koppel’s intrepid reporting and probing interviews,” Schmuhl says. “Today, as a special correspondent for ‘Rock Center’ on NBC and as a commentator for NPR, he continues to contribute original insight and informed intelligence to the television and radio airwaves.”

Koppel’s many achievements include 41 Emmy Awards, eight Peabody Awards and 10 DuPont-Columbia Awards during his 42-year tenure at ABC News.

The Oct. 12 talk is not Koppel’s first trip to the University. He presented a lecture titled “Journalism: It’s as Easy as ABC” in 1999 as part of the Gallivan Program’s , which brings prominent journalists to campus to discuss the craft of writing and the state of American journalism.

Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on Sept. 20, 2012.

Wikipedia often appears in the top results when searching for information online, but it isn’t always the most credible source. Enter University of 91�Թ� undergraduate students in the “” class taught by Assistant Professor of Psychology , who took on correcting and even creating new entries for the online encyclopedia.

As part of the new , Haeffel’s class was one of just a few across the country selected to participate.

“We know that a lot of people get their science information from Wikipedia,” Haeffel says. “The average person will never read a journal article — they’re never going to read a peer-reviewed report. They go online. The APS initiative aims to have researchers fix Wikipedia pages with the most up-to-date, most relevant, most accurate scientific information.”

While performing this public service, Haeffel says, his students have also developed research, writing and technical skills that will serve them well after graduation, whether they go into psychology or not.

“There have been a few experts in technology saying that knowing how to edit Wikipedia text is going to be a required job skill in about three years.”

For the project, students chose topic pages from a list provided by the Association for Psychological Science. Some of the pages, Haeffel says, were “mainly opinion and myth,” while others just had a bare minimum of information. Some topics weren’t covered at all. The students then worked independently or in pairs, researching the assigned subject and compiling the dozens — if not hundreds — of citations needed to draft and submit new information.

“Everything we write or change in a Wikipedia article must be supported,” Haeffel explains. “The only way to defend an edit is with a reference, so students had to find all of their references ahead of time. They essentially became experts on their topics.”

And the research is just the first part of the process, Haeffel says.

“You learn that if you’re going to say something, you have to be able to back it up and defend it,” he says. “But you also have to find a way to convey complicated information to a lay person who doesn’t know the jargon. Clarity in writing, parsimony in writing — these are things that students are learning while editing Wikipedia pages.”

Once the pages are ready to be released online, they are then open to revision by Wikipedia’s volunteer editors — most of whom are not psychological professionals, Haeffel says. “This part of the project is good for learning skills about interacting with others and dealing with discrepancies, debates and fights.”

Psychology majors Victoria Mansoor and Luke Tilmans teamed up to revise a Wikipedia page on the Dodo Bird verdict, a theory that states all psychotherapies produce equivalent outcomes.

“We tried to show arguments in support of the Dodo Bird verdict and also the arguments against it,” Mansoor explains.

While managing corrections and suggestions from Wikipedia editors was challenging, Mansoor says, it was worth the effort. “Now you can Google our topic and what we wrote comes up,” she says. “It’s nice to see your work out there.”

Junior David Lawson, a psychology major who also took the course this spring, says that the research was daunting at times — requiring, on average, 60 to 80 references for a single Wikipedia page — but that writing for such a huge potential audience was thrilling.

“It’s one of my favorite classes at 91�Թ�,” he says.

Haeffel plans to offer the course again next spring.

Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on May 10, 2012.

University of 91�Թ� students in a course called Foundations of Business Thinking are part of the only class in the nation invited to participate in the inaugural gathering of , a new nonprofit initiative dedicated to social innovation through technology.

Chaired by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and TechNet CEO Rey Ramsey, the organization connects leading entrepreneurs, scholars, nonprofits, corporations, and technology experts in an attempt to find innovative solutions to pressing social problems.

In a presentation to students in the class, ConvergeUS Executive Director Patrick Gusman, a 1984 91�Թ� graduate, outlined the organization’s plan to select up to three social issues each year and hold an annual summit where participants will develop a “Technology Innovation Blueprint” to tackle those challenges.

The inaugural event, taking place today (Oct. 6) in Sausalito, Calif., will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, the literacy gap among 0 to 3 year olds, and health literacy.

The 91�Թ� students in the Business Thinking course—part of the College’s (CAPP)—received the same background materials ConvergeUS fellows were given and will participate in this week’s summit via video conference, says CAPP Director , an associate professor in the , who also will serve as a ConvergeUS fellow at the summit.

Jeff Sucec, who teaches the Business Thinking course, says the students will have the opportunity to take part in “ongoing, interactive discussions…not just initially, but throughout the year.

“They’re going to find out very quickly that they can have some substantive input.”

Business Thinking is designed to help Arts and Letters students develop a working knowledge of fundamental business disciplines while providing hands-on opportunities to apply their creative thinking, analysis and problem-solving skills.

The course, Sucec says, is “perfectly aligned with how the business world is moving now. Linear, left-brain oriented thinking needs to be augmented with more expansive, adaptive, flexible thinking.”

In today’s rapidly-changing environment, students with a liberal arts background “are uniquely positioned” to be successful in business, he adds.

Sucec enhances the coursework each semester with a real-world business opportunity that allows students “to take it from the theoretical to the practical.” The new partnership with ConvergeUS is a chance to do just that, he says, while learning from and interacting with cutting-edge technology experts and successful entrepreneurs.

Earlier this fall, Gusman and Karen Proctor, a 1985 91�Թ� graduate and a ConvergeUS advisor, met with the Business Thinking students to discuss trends in corporate responsibility, social innovation, and the ways in which they will be able to contribute to ConvergeUS.

“A lot of this is evolving,” Crowell says. “But the idea of our students having an ongoing role and being the only [student] representatives at this inaugural event, in my opinion, is a pretty big deal.”

The organization, he adds, has a particular appeal to 91�Թ� students and alumni because “it is directed at solving some very important, pressing problems that confront the nation.

“My hope is that this University, among all other universities, is one of the main focal points for channeling power into ConvergeUS,” Crowell says. “I think that this is an important movement and something that 91�Թ� should be involved in.”

Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on October 05, 2011.

To experience the full power of the 17th-century English masterpiece “Paradise Lost,” 91�Թ� students and faculty gathered recently in O’Shaughnessy Hall to read John Milton’s 10,000-line poem aloud in one sitting.

Over the course of 10 hours, readers moved from heaven to hell to the Garden of Eden, taking on the parts of God, Satan, Adam and Eve, and a host of angels.

“Great poetry is meant to be read aloud and to be heard, and ‘Paradise Lost’ is arguably the greatest poem in English—a work of extraordinary brilliance and power,” says , a and professor who recently was named the Milton Society of America’s 2011 .

Participants took turns reading aloud verse paragraphs of the poem in an informal reading circle. Students and faculty who chose to participate were encouraged to stay for the whole marathon, but others came and went as their schedules allowed.

The first all-day reading of “Paradise Lost” at 91�Թ� in nearly 15 years aimed to help illuminate Milton’s poetic genius, Fallon says.

“The experience of reading and hearing the whole poem aloud reveals the riches of Milton’s epic line by line and between the lines,” Fallon says. “Subtle echoes, parallels and contrasts become more audible when lifted from the page. The aural experience highlights the kinetic energy of the verse.

“It all is exhausting—and exhilarating,” he adds. “No one leaves the reading unchanged.”

Originally published by Chris Milazzo at on March 30, 2011.