Arizona State University

Arizona State University is conducting the 9th annual Local to Global Justice Teach-In Feb. 26-28, on ASU’s Tempe campus, to encourage discussion about issues of social justice, share knowledge and work toward a more just and sustainable community.

“Re-Storying Community” is the theme of this year’s teach-in – a free, public event that focuses on imagining new possibilities and telling stories through film, theater, music and workshops to restore communities and social networks in this challenging national and local economy.

“We want to emphasize people’s stories and their direct experiences through an array of creative formats,” said Beth Blue Swadener, professor of education policy, leadership and curriculum with the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education. “We need more narratives to draw from. We need more options for creating a viable future – both locally and globally. It’s a way to envision community.”

Harking back to days of student activism and social movements in the 1960s, Local to Global Justice is a student organization at ASU with strong ties to community activists in social justice, human rights and environmental issues. The L2GJ group formed in 2001 following the tragedy of 9-11 and held its first teach-in in April 2002 with 150 participants who were working on issues of globalization and connections between local issues and global struggles, as well as addressing concerns about civil liberties in the post 9-11 policies.

In recent years, the teach-in has been a social forum attracting 400 to 500 attendees sharing their knowledge and networks to form grassroots efforts of social activism.

“The teach-in has been a springboard for organizations to jump off from,” said Matt Besenfelder, program coordinator and ASU alum in nonprofit leadership and management. “I really see us as an organization that creates a space for people to discuss a wide range of issues affecting us both locally and globally. We link organizations and individuals with common commitments to social justice.”

The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 26, in Neeb Hall with the Arizona premier of the independent film “Mountains that Take Wing,” a documentary featuring 13 years of conversations between Angela Davis, a professor, and community activist Yuri Kochiyama. The film was co-directed and produced by ASU faculty Helen Quan, assistant professor of Justice and Social inquiry in the School of Social Transformation, and C.A. Griffith, associate professor in the School of Theatre & Film.

The discussions between the internationally renowned scholar-activist and the revered grassroots community activist offer insight into their profound passion for justice, the role of women in social movements as well as community empowerment, war and the cultural arts. The evening culminates with a Q&A with the filmmakers and Karen Leong, associate professor of Women and Gender Studies and Asian Pacific American Studies at ASU. The event also serves as a fundraiser for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

“This film is about community activists who seek justice and have rich stories we can learn from,” Swadener said. “We all have stories to share, and the Teach-In is a place where people can share those stories.”

The ASU School of Theater and Film was instrumental in bringing in keynote speaker John O’Neal, artistic director of Junebug Productions in New Orleans. In 1963, O’Neal co-founded the Free Southern Theater as a cultural arm of the southern Civil Rights Movement. He will lead workshops called “Story Circles” on Saturday and Sunday, which will prepare participants to play an interactive role in his keynote address on Sunday afternoon in the Education Lecture Hall.

The topics discussed, such as rain harvesting, alternative vehicles, the lack of human rights for immigrants, racial profiling by local law enforcement and the rebuilding of New Orleans Ninth Ward, will be woven into O’Neal’s keynote on Sunday, maximizing local relevance.

The teach-in’s free youth program features a musical keynote by Songcatcher, a youth music ensemble from the Tohono O‘odham Nation that inspires Native American youth by giving them a voice. Their music deals with issues of coming of age on the reservation.

“Kids have voices, too,” said doctoral student Kim Eversman, L2GJ president and teach-in youth coordinator. “We want those voices to be heard in this overarching teach-in. The youth program discussions will include what it means to be an activist and how to deal with the challenges of being a little voice with a lot to say.”

The teach-in serves as unique annual gathering, which brings together campus and community groups and individuals of all ages and backgrounds.

“We are right in that sphere of public pedagogy, providing education that’s relevant, engaging and free. It is interdisciplinary, making global connections about issues of justice and sustainability, which are emerging themes of the new Fulton Institute and Graduate School,” Swadener said.

The teach-in is sponsored by Local to Global Justice, and co-sponsored by more than 12 departments and organizations, including the Graduate and Professional Student Association, Undergrad Student Government, the Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education, School of Social Transformation, and School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Healthy vegan food, catered by the local restaurant, Green, is provided free of charge for participants.

For more information about the feature film and schedules for the workshops, featured presentations and youth events, go to www.localtoglobal.org.

Dirty fingernails have given way to wearing gloves for Michael Christiansen, who has followed his passion for science from fossil-hunting in the field to growing nanocrystals in a research lab.

At 20, the ASU sophomore in physics is funded by ASU’s NASA Space Grant program to help build an ultrahigh vacuum chamber for experiments on the growth of silicon and germanium nanowires. He spends hours every week in the physics lab of Jeff Drucker, a professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

As a child he collected rocks, minerals, fossils and ancient Roman coins, and he spent time venturing into Colorado’s wilderness areas near his home in Lakewood. He was an Eagle Scout, hiking up 14,000-foot peaks, camping in Colorado’s winter snow.

His affinity for science is related to his fascination with nature, Christiansen says. But he wasn’t sure which branch of science he’d pursue until he took an honors section of a freshman physics course at ASU.

“More than any single mind-blowing idea, that class gave me a taste for the ‘flavor’ of physics as a means of examining and describing nature,” he says. “It was the kind of impression that has more to do with the way something feels than what it specifically is.

“I came to ASU with a broad interest in science, knowing that there was a lot of interesting scientific research happening in a wide variety of disciplines here, and that I could probably find a way to work in a lab as an undergraduate. It was good to know I had flexibility in choosing a major.”

He spent the summer of 2007 collecting Eocene-aged mammalian fossils from the Wind River Basin of Wyoming, as part of a paleontology internship for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. While he has returned to the field every summer since, it was that first experience which cemented his decision to make a career in science.

Arguably the most amazing experience he’s had at ASU was not in the lab or the field, however. It was his first trip outside the United States last summer with fellow students in Barrett, the Honors College. They toured factories in China where iPhone batteries and treadmills were being made, while learning about globalization.

Christiansen still finds time to go hiking and skiing, and he volunteers at informal science education events. He also writes poetry, and one of his poems was published last year in the ASU undergraduate creative review, Lux.

His poetic talent is evident in his description of that summer collecting fossils in Wyoming:

“It was invigorating to think that all around me the lonely expanses of striped Wyoming badlands concealed data buried beneath dirt and rock, and we could merely scratch the surface. At night we spread out the day’s specimens under the light of a lantern, got excited about the significant finds and talked about science. For the first time I had the sensation of being able to touch physically the progress of knowledge.”

Lyle Balenquah will give a free lecture titled “A Hopi Perspective on Rock Art and the Science of Archaeology” from 1 to 2 p.m., March 6 at ASU’s Deer Valley Rock Art Center.

Balenquah, Hopi, will discuss his experiences and insights while working as an archaeologist in the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest.

Balenquah is a member of the Greasewood clan from the Village of Bacavi (Reed Springs) on Third Mesa. He has earned degrees (BA 1999, MA 2002) in Cultural Anthropology and Southwestern Archaeology from Northern Arizona University.

For more than 10 years he has worked throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah as an archaeologist documenting ancestral Hopi settlements and their lifeways. Balenquah currently works as an independent consultant but his experience includes time with the National Park Service, the Hopi Tribe, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

The Deer Valley Rock Art Center has the largest concentration of Native American petroglyphs in the Phoenix Valley. Visitors hike a 1/4-mile trail to view more than 1,500 petroglyphs made between 800 and 5,000 years ago. Our museum aims to promote preservation, connection and respect for the site and we are a destination for families to learn about archaeology in their own backyard.

The Center is managed by one of the top archaeology programs in the country at ASU and is a Phoenix Point of Pride. DVRAC is located at 3711 W. Deer Valley Road, two blocks west of 35th Avenue.

For more details, call (623) 582-8007 or visit: dvrac.asu.edu.

Arizona State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is accepting nominations for the annual A. Wade Smith Community Award for Advancement of Race Relations. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 15.

Individuals considered for this award are Arizona residents who have demonstrated leadership in the advancement of race relations within their community. The nomination form is online at http://clas.asu.edu/smithlecture.

The A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture committee selects as the recipient of this annual award, a courageous and caring person in the community who best represents what it means to be a leader in the struggle for advancement of race relations. Past recipients include David Hemphill, Doris Marshall, Raner Collins, Betty Fairfax, Jean Fairfax and Elsie Moore.

The award will be given at the 15th annual A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations on April 8 in the Memorial Union on ASU’s Tempe campus.

The lecture is held to celebrate and honor the work Smith accomplished during his lifetime. A former professor and chair of sociology at ASU, Smith spent much of his life in pursuit of the advancement of race relations on campus and within his community. The lecture was established after his death in 1994 through funding from his family and friends in their hopes to continue Smith’s work of improving race relations in Arizona.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Additional information is available online at http://clas.asu.edu/smithlecture, or at 480-965-0051.

Written by Danielle Legler (Danielle.Legler@asu.edu) for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

MEDIA CONTACT
Carol Hughes, carol.hughes@asu.edu
(480) 965-6375

ASU’s University Club is more than just a place to dine and mingle – though there are plenty of opportunities for that, too.

The club is a place to learn, through the colloquium series presented each year.

The colloquia are open to both club members and non-members. Lunch is served – the Chef’s Choice Buffet – for $15.

Next up in the series is a talk by Jay Q. Butler, who holds the Arizona Realtors Professorship in Real Estate, titled “Real Estate in Today’s Economy,” at noon on Feb. 16. Butler also is director of realty studies for the W.P. Carey School of Business.

Also a popular event at the club is High Tea, which takes place once a month. The next High Tea will be from 2 to 4 p.m. March 9. The teas include scones, tea sandwiches, and your choice of tea. Cost is $12 per person.

To make reservations for the colloquium or High Tea, contact Debi Smith at (480) 965-0701.

Membership to the University Club is available to all ASU faculty, staff and alumni, and for a limited time, the initial fee, which is regularly $100, will be waived for the first 100 new members. To take advantage of this opportunity, faculty and staff members are requested to pay for their dues via payroll deduction with a cost of just $7.50 per paycheck.

For ASU Alumni, the University Club will waive the first six months’ membership fees (a savings of $120) when you become a U Club member. The initial fee is $100 and monthly fees are $20.

ASU parent also may join, with the first five months of membership dues waived for a savings of $110.

For more information, contact Smith at (480) 965-0701 or debi.smith@asu.edu. The Web site is www.asu.edu/uclub.

The Sustainable Symphony makes a return performance at the evening Farmers’ Market at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, at 7 p.m., Feb. 11.

The Symphony, comprised mostly of ASU students and alumni, concentrates on performing well-known and relevant orchestral music. Their 40-piece orchestra will be performing Dvorak’s New World Symphony as the Farmers’ Market concludes its business for the day. The Market made its debut in October 2009 and is open every Thursday evening from 3-7 p.m. at SkySong through March 2010.

While farmers’ markets promote sustainable practices, especially the virtues of using locally grown produce and food products, the Sustainable Symphony promotes the arts as ’sustainable’ while challenging how current symphony orchestras present themselves, according to Symphony conductor Brian Viliunas.

“We believe that the arts are one of humanity’s most sustaining endeavors, with evidence of public art reaching back thousands of years,” Viliunas said. “We are also seeking an answer to the question of whether or not the symphony orchestra is sustainable in its current model.

“We are very excited to return to SkySong to perform in a place where you otherwise would not normally hear an orchestra playing.”

The Farmers’ Market is free to the public and open to everyone to attend.

Arizona State University is accepting applications for the Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Institute, a week-long summer program that successfully prepares students for entrance into college.

Students can now enroll online by visiting www.asu.edu/ccli.

“So many high school students are already tech savvy and we’re hoping the new online system is simpler to use for submitting our application rather than the old paper system,” said CCLI Web master Steve McGillivray.

Applicants must be a high school sophomore or junior attending an Arizona high school during the current 2009-2010 academic school year. Selection will be made from completed applications received by March 26, 2010.

The Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Institute was established in 1995 by a group of ASU and community leaders seeking to inspire and motivate high school students through the life and legacy of civil rights leader Cesar E. Chavez. The goal of the Institute is to develop a cadre of youth prepared for leadership that will allow students to participate fully in the civic, economic and cultural life of their community.

The program provides approximately 60 students with an in-depth experience that will increase their understanding of higher education and community development.

For more information about The Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Institute, call (480) 965-8890 or go to www.asu.edu/ccli.

Contact:
Courtney McCune, Courtney.McCune@asu.edu
Community Relations Program Coordinator
Office of Public Affairs
Arizona State University
(480) 965-8889

Five faculty members of Arizona State University are among the 531 newly elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a prestigious international scientific society. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society.

Metin Akay, Manfred Laubichler, Jerry Y.S. Lin, Julie Luft and Willem F.J. Vermaas will be recognized Feb. 20 at the Fellows forum, during the 2010 AAAS annual meeting in San Diego.

This year’s election brings the total number of AAAS Fellows at Arizona State University to 59.

Becoming a Fellow is in recognition of efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. Within that general framework, each awardee is honored for contributions to a specific field.

Metin Akay was elected as an AAAS Fellow for “contributions to biomedical engineering research and education, particularly his work in neural engineering and informatics.” Akay, a professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, recently was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering – one of the highest recognitions in the biological and biomedical sciences. His research spans a wide range of biomedical interests, including cardiovascular and rehabilitation engineering.
 

Manfred Laubichler is recognized by AAAS for his work in the history and philosophy of science, especially in developmental and evolutionary biology.  Understanding complexity has been a central theme of 20th century biology and the catalyst for Laubichler’s research. A professor in the School of Life Sciences, co-director of Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity and a member of the Center for Biology and Society in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Laubichler is specifically cited for his distinguished teaching and advancement of science in society and explorations of the philosophical and historical roots of modern biology. His group has collaborative relationships worldwide and Laubichler himself has published more than 85 articles and six books, the most recent of which examines the field of EvoDevo: “Form and Function in Developmental Evolution,” in 2009.

Jerry Y.S. Lin was cited by AAAS for leading advancements in chemical engineering technologies, particularly those used in many industrial processes, including processes to produce hydrogen as an alternative fuel for cars, to prevent pollution from industrial systems and to purify water supplies. Lin is a professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical and Materials Engineering in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. His achievements in inorganic membrane science and technology for chemical separation and membrane reactor applications also earned him a prestigious Award for Excellence from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2009.

Julie Luft is a professor of secondary science education with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education. She is cited by AAAS for “distinguished service to K-12 science teacher education through national leadership, and for renowned research contributions in science teacher education for both teachers and researchers.” Luft’s service to the science education community has been extensive, and includes serving as the President of the Association of Science Teacher Educators, director of research of the National Science Teachers Association and associate editor of leading science education research journals. Luft’s research has focused on understanding how teachers develop throughout their careers. Her early work explored the design of teacher education and professional development programs including how teachers learned to enact inquiry based instruction through collaboration and by working with students. Recently, Luft has focused on understanding the role of teacher induction programs in increasing the longevity and success of secondary school science teachers. The work is impacting how researchers and educators study and view the first years of teaching among content specialists.

Willem F.J. Vermaas thrives on alternatives, in green energy and in teaching. A professor in the School of Life Sciences and researcher in the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Vermaas was selected as an AAAS Fellow for his “distinguished contributions to the study of molecular physiology of cyanobacteria photosynthesis, translation of that knowledge to development of bioenergy solutions and the training of future biologists.” Vermaas has pioneered institutional changes that advanced degree programs and research support at ASU. His adept manipulations of the genetic machinery of the microbe Synechocystis have advanced discovery and generated significant strides toward sustainable biofuel production. His efforts have attracted millions of dollars in funding to these critical areas of research and led to his designation as 2007 “Innovator of the Year” from Arizona Technology Enterprises.

Media contact:

Skip Derra
480-965-4823
skip.derra@asu.edu

What do the following have in common: an electric toothbrush, Gatorade, the ATM, and a cervical pap smear? All of these benefits emerged from discoveries made in university research departments.

“We use products derived from ideas generated at our great research universities countless times a day whether we realize it or not,” says Jonathan R. Cole, a sociologist, professor and former Columbia University provost.
 
Cole will lead a critical discussion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Feb. 12, in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main on ASU’s Tempe campus, on the core values and steeples of excellence needed to create top universities, as well as how universities drive economic success, respond to local and global needs and improve our lives. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Attendees should RSVP to universityinitiatives@asu.edu by Feb. 8. Free parking is available in the Fulton Center parking structure, and light refreshments will be served. Information is available online.

Cole’s lecture will address the arguments stressed in his newest book, aptly titled “The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, and Why It Must Be Protected.” The book presents a motivating and intelligent defense of the university’s role in national innovation and discovery as well as our need to protect higher education.

The timing for Cole’s speech could not be more appropriate, as the current economic crisis already has proven to be detrimental to university funding, particularly in the state of Arizona. “Solutions for Higher Education” reports that Arizona is currently ranked 35th in state and local per capita spending on higher education. As a nation and among other industrialized countries, the United States ranks 15th in college completion.

More than ever before, now is the time to protect higher education’s ability to produce success that can maximize social impact. Cole argues that a widespread belief in the importance of higher education and an understanding of the ways in which research universities improve our lives is necessary if America is to remain an exemplar of greatness.
 
With extensive experience as a scholar, faculty member and provost at Columbia University – the second-longest tenure as provost in the university’s 250-year history – Cole is well-suited to address the upcoming challenges facing campuses across the United States, particularly the ideas, academic freedom and technology that are threatened from within. He reminds readers that the proper goal of higher institution is enlightenment, not suppression. Great universities are designed to be unsettling. In other words, they are designed to encourage students and faculty to question the world around them.

In addition to his Feb. 12 public lecture, Cole will be at Changing Hands Bookstore for a book signing at 7 p.m., Feb. 11. Changing Hands Bookstore is located at 6428 S McClintock Drive in Tempe.

Influencing practice and policy in science education is what drives ASU’s Julie Luft and has led to her distinguished service to K-12 science teacher education and renowned research contributions to the field. She considers her recent call from Congress to testify about the status and future of science education to be among her most notable achievements.

Luft delivered her first-time testimony before the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee at the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Education Hearings that took place Feb. 3-4.  She was joined by Craig Strang, associate director of the Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California-Berkeley.

The purpose of the hearing was to inform Congressional subcommittee members about the status and future direction of STEM education in the K-12 sector. STEM education is considered vital to maintaining the United States’ leadership in the rapidly advancing world of science and technology. In her testimony, Luft emphasized the importance of inquiry in teacher education and professional development, and the need for more federal funding to support science organizations involved in research and development. She also stressed the unintended consequences of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, which has limited the amount of inquiry-based instruction in K-12 science classrooms.

Luft’s research programs, many of which have received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), have focused on understanding how teachers develop throughout their careers. Her early work explored the design of teacher education and professional development programs, and how teachers learned to enact inquiry-based instruction through collaboration and hands-on interactions with students. Sharing her research with practitioners is consistently among Luft’s highest priorities.

Her current NSF-funded project is examining the role of teacher induction programs in increasing the longevity and success of secondary school science teachers. It is this work, Luft says, that is influencing how researchers and educators study and view the first years of teaching among content specialists.

Her appearance on Capitol Hill was made on the heels of back-to-back honors received from two prestigious national science associations. 

Luft will be inducted Feb. 20 as a fellow of the 160-year-old American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. The honor is in recognition of research in teacher education and extensive service to the science education community, which includes serving as president of the Association of Science Teacher Educators (ASTE), Director of Research for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Associate Editor of leading science education research journals.

She joins 44 other ASU scholars who have received the prestigious honor, including Professor Dale Baker, also of the Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education, and is included among more than 7,600 fellows of the academy’s 117,000 members.

In January, Luft received ASTE’s Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year Award, the group’s highest honor. The award recognizes science teacher educators with more than 10 years of service and who have made significant contributions to science teacher education.

Luft said the awards were “not something that I expected. I’ve always just been happy doing the work that I’m doing.”

In addition to her “exquisite work in teacher induction and mentoring in science,” ASU Professor James Middleton said Luft’s commitment to preparing the next generation of researchers, and improving curriculum and instruction in the state is well-known and esteemed. 

“It is not uncommon to see ASU students practicing their talks with Julie prior to delivering presentations before professional science teacher education organizations such as the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. (NARST),” said Middleton, who is director of ASU’s Center for Research on Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (CRESMET) and a long-time colleague of Luft’s.

Kate Scantlebury, professor and secondary science coordinator in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware, said Luft’s “commitment to making stronger connections between the science education research community and the practitioners” is a hallmark of her stellar contributions to the field. Since 2009, Luft has been in a leadership position at NSTA and has focused on cultivating these connections.

Luft cultivated her love for science as a child in New Mexico, where she became an amateur ecologist.

“I was always outdoors learning the names of wildflowers and plants and became interested in natural history,” she said.  “Science was a natural fit for me.”

At the University of New Mexico she majored in and did independent research in ecology, an interest that later blossomed into a passion for improving science education from seventh- through 12th-grade students – a passion which has resulted in leading-edge work that has expanded dramatically since she joined the faculty at ASU in 2004.

Carol Sowers
Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education
csowers31@live.com

The ASU Art Museum presents San Francisco-based artist Wanxin Zhang’s exhibition, Wanxin Zhang: A Ten Year Survey,  running now through May 1. The exhibition features monumental figures in clay that are a marriage of historical Asian references with contemporary culture.

Inspired by the soldiers of the Qin Terra-cotta Army unearthed in Xian, China, in 1974, Zhang’s large-scale terra-cotta figures cross over from history into today’s culture. His works are marked by a collision of cultures. He draws manner of dress, hair fashion and calligraphy from Chinese culture. Zhang then combines American peculiarities as ironic twists, such as a Mickey Mouse hat, basketball, skateboard, or an ordinary tourist’s camera, which dangles off the shoulders of a figure reeking of 2,000 years of history.

“Many years ago, I was standing in front of the Qin’s Terra-cotta Army in the museum in Xian. As I faced thousands of armed soldiers underground, I was shocked,” Zhang says. “I silently asked myself: Who were they? Where did they come from? Why are they standing here? Even though many years had passed, the first impression I received of the pieces is still in my mind. I anticipate that my works of art can raise the same questions for the audience.”

Chinese-born artist Wanxin Zhang grew up during the restrictive political climate of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution but was drawn to American culture, wanting to see paintings and sculptures that were known to him only through books. An accomplished artist with works already in China’s National Fine Arts Museum, Zhang eventually settled in San Francisco, a city rich in diversity with an established Chinese community. There, he encountered the Bay Area ceramic art scene, to which he felt an immediate affinity. Not only did he work with Peter Voulkos at the artist’s Oakland foundry, but he had first-hand contact with many of the innovative Bay Area Funk artists.

Zhang is indicative of China’s new emerging consciousness: respectful of tradition, sympathetic to intellectual curiosity. Zhang seeks to regain the sanctity of the individual.

ASU Art Museum will be celebrating the opening of this exhibition at the Spring Opening Reception, 7-9 p.m., Feb. 19. The reception is free and open to everyone. Refreshments for the reception are sponsored by Four Peaks Brewing Co.

Organized by the ASU Art Museum’s Ceramics Research Center, Wanxin Zhang: A Ten Year Survey is made possible by the ceramic leaders at ASU and the Joseph Dung Ceramic Initiative, in cooperation with the Udinotti Gallery, Scottsdale, Ariz., Mindy Solomon Gallery, St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, Fla.

ASU Art Museum is free and open to the public. Museum hours are Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. during the academic semesters, and Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The museum is closed Sunday and Monday, but offers additional educator hours by appointment on Mondays and before 11 a.m., Tuesday-Thursday.

Arizona Representative Cloves Campbell Jr. will be honored as the recipient of the Pioneer Award at a dinner at Arizona State University’s West campus on Feb. 27.  The Pioneer Award Dinner is the final event on a calendar of activities celebrating Black History Month at the campus and will be held in the University Center Building (UCB), La Sala ballroom at 6 p.m.

The award recognizes individuals or families that have made a long term commitment to the quality of lives of African Americans.

“Representative Campbell is a most deserving recipient of this prestigious award,” says Duku Anokye, an associate professor in the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. 

“He is an actively engaged member of a prominent African American family and has given more than 25 years of his own life in service to the community through his newspaper, The Arizona Informant, and as a representative of Arizona’s 16th District.”

Campbell Jr. is the son of the late Cloves Campbell, the state’s first black senator and founder of The Arizona Informant, the only African American-owned weekly in Arizona.  Now the board chairman and co-publisher of the paper, Campbell Jr. was elected to the Arizona State House of Representatives in 2006 and currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee, Banking and Insurance Committee and the Sub-Committee on Library and Archives.

In the community, the younger Campbell has been a dynamo.  He sits on several boards, including Governor’s African American Advisory Board, Attorney General’s African American Advisory Board, Black Theater Troupe Board, Salvation Army Advisory Board, West Coast Black Publishers Board, Tanner Chapel A.M.E. Church Board of Trustees, and the 100 Black Men of Phoenix.  He is a life member of the NAACP.

“What stands out when you meet Representative Campbell is his dedication,” says Anokye, who has been an integral part of the West campus Black History Month committee for years.  “His commitment, his faith, his devotion to family and the ongoing growth and development of African American social, cultural, political and historical concerns is an incentive for all of us to do more, do better, and to give back.

“Our Pioneer Award honorees, past and present, are living examples of what it means to live a dedicated and meaningful life.”
In addition to recognition of Campbell Jr. and a documentary commemorating his service, the Pioneer Award Dinner will feature an African processional and a special performance by the Asase Yaa African American Dance Theatre, an award-winning and internationally travelled ensemble of musicians, dancers and singers with training in various disciplines.

Other upcoming West campus events on the Black History Month calendar are the Poetry Jam on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kiva Auditorium ($5 admission, students $3) and the African Master Dance Workshop on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. in La Sala.
ASU’s West campus is located at 4701 West Thunderbird Road in Phoenix.  More information about Black History Month events is available by calling 602-543-5306. RSVP at WestEvents@asu.edu.

A Valley tradition continues at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13, as the 6th annual West Side Poetry Jam is presented at Arizona State University’s West campus. The event is hosted by the campus’s Black History Month Committee and the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.

The evening will feature some of the Valley’s brightest and best poets as they perform their original creations. Hosted by Divine, this annual event is one of the largest of its kind in the area and will feature DJ Dark Vader. Featured poets include issim dark, ms marche, kafiah, seven, flipside, apollo and i am poet.

Divine, the evening’s host, began writing poetry at the age of 12 and performed her first poem at 17. She had the privilege of performing with actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, as well as actor and poet Malcolm Jamal Warner and Uman Bin Hasan of the Last Poets.  Although the spoken and written word is her first love, she is also a teacher and actress, having recently performed in the film “Second Chance” and in a Phoenix production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

Divine has been hosting the West Side Poetry Jam since its inception, and she and kafiah were featured in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance world premiere performance of “Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration” at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix.

The West Side Poetry Jam will take place on ASU’s West campus in the Sands Classroom Building, Kiva Lecture Hall.  Tickets for the event are $5 general admission and $3 for students, and will be available at the door. Parking is free. The West campus is at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix.  For more information, call 602-543-ARTS (2787).

The structure of DNA – the huge, twisting molecule that contains all the genetic coding used to control functions, development and behavior of all living organisms – isn’t necessarily an easy concept for students in biology classes to grasp.

But given the importance of understanding this structure, Arizona State University life sciences professor Pamela A. Marshall decided it was worth the investment of time to devise a new activity that high school science teachers could use to help their students master the structure and the attributes of DNA.

Marshall’s efforts recently paid off, as her activity was selected through peer review to be published at www.asm.org, the Web site for the American Society for Microbiology.

The title of Marshall’s new activity is a mouthful – “Modeling Concepts of 5’, 3’, Antiparallel and Complimentary in DNA Structure,” but it boils down to using students’ own bodies to model DNA structure to give them an idea of how the molecule is formed.

“I noticed in my classes that many students didn’t really understand the structure of this molecule, even though it is taught in several ways at several levels,” says Marshall, an assistant professor in the Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (MNS) on ASU’s West campus.

“I thought I’d develop a lesson plan, field tested, that high school teachers could use if they wanted to try a different method to teach this concept.”

In Marshall’s activity, students model the DNA structure themselves, holding hands to represent the way DNA nucleotides connect, and facing each other to model the hydrogen bonding between the DNA strands .

Concepts related to DNA and genetic material are tested on Arizona’s AIMS test for high school graduation.

If that fact were not enough to make students want to learn these concepts, Marshall says it’s important for everyone to understand the basic biology of a cell.

“Modern human medicine is getting increasingly technical and focused at a cellular level,” she says. “Understanding cell biology is now part of being an educated consumer of medical treatment.”

Having taught in the MNS Division in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences since 2003, Marshall has developed a reputation for engaging undergraduate students in her laboratory research. In 2008 she received the ASU Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring. Since her arrival at the West campus, Marshall has mentored more than 30 undergraduate students, many of whom have gone on to medical school.

“It’s an honor to have an activity posted on the ASM Web site,” Marshall says. “The postings are an excellent resource for helping teachers think about new ways to teach concepts in science.”

Marshall’s new activity is included among the Microbial Discovery Activities on the ASM site. These exercises, designed to encourage the teaching of microbiology in the K-12 basic science curriculum, can be used by parents, teachers, scout troop leaders, or students themselves. All activities use materials easily found at home or at a neighborhood store.

“The Microbial Discovery Activities collection is a great resource for teachers and microbiologists involved in K-12 education,” says Liliana Rodriguez of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, who serves as editor of the collection.

“The exercises follow the National Science Education Standards, are field tested, and are simple enough to be conducted in a regular classroom.”

What do the following have in common: an electric toothbrush, Gatorade, the ATM, and a cervical pap smear? All of these benefits emerged from discoveries made in university research departments.

“We use products derived from ideas generated at our great research universities countless times a day whether we realize it or not,” says Jonathan R. Cole, a sociologist, professor and former Colombia University provost.
 
Cole will lead a critical discussion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Feb. 12, in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main on ASU’s Tempe campus, on the core values and steeples of excellence needed to create top universities, as well as how universities drive economic success, respond to local and global needs and improve our lives. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Attendees should RSVP to universityinitiatives@asu.edu by Feb. 8. Free parking is available in the Fulton Center parking structure, and light refreshments will be served. Information is available online.

Cole’s lecture will address the arguments stressed in his newest book, aptly titled “The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, and Why It Must Be Protected.” The book presents a motivating and intelligent defense of the university’s role in national innovation and discovery as well as our need to protect higher education.

The timing for Cole’s speech could not be more appropriate, as the current economic crisis already has proven to be detrimental to university funding, particularly in the state of Arizona. “Solutions for Higher Education” reports that Arizona is currently ranked 35th in state and local per capita spending on higher education. As a nation and among other industrialized countries, the United States ranks 15th in college completion.

More than ever before, now is the time to protect higher education’s ability to produce success that can maximize social impact. Cole argues that a widespread belief in the importance of higher education and an understanding of the ways in which research universities improve our lives is necessary if America is to remain an exemplar of greatness.
 
With extensive experience as a scholar, faculty member and provost at Columbia University – the second-longest tenure as provost in the university’s 250-year history – Cole is well-suited to address the upcoming challenges facing campuses across the United States, particularly the ideas, academic freedom and technology that are threatened from within. He reminds readers that the proper goal of higher institution is enlightenment, not suppression. Great universities are designed to be unsettling. In other words, they are designed to encourage students and faculty to question the world around them.

In addition to his Feb. 12 public lecture, Cole will be at Changing Hands Bookstore for a book signing at 7 p.m., Feb. 11. Changing Hands Bookstore is located at 6428 S McClintock Drive in Tempe.