News from the School of IAS
Category: Alumni
IAS alumni, faculty member, and student serve on UWAA Board of Trustees
The University of Washington Alumni Association (UWAA) has been the foundation of the UW alumni community for more than 125 years, and the UWAA Board of Trustees is a vital body of committed individuals responsible for setting the association’s tone and direction. IAS alumni serving on the Board of Trustees for the 2020-21 term include: At-large Trustee Emily Anderson (’09), University Representative Trustee David Hernandez (’03), and Geographic Trustee Tanya Kumar (’18) ...
September 24, 2020
Meshell Sturgis reviews The Rachel Divide and Fearing the Black Body
M.A. in Cultural Studies alum Meshell Sturgis ('17) studies representations of difference and identity in the media using Black feminist critical-cultural communication theories and methods. A Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Communication, Sturgis recently published reviews of the documentary film, The Rachel Divide, with co-author Victoria Thomas, and the book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, by Sabrina Strings.
September 17, 2020
Melissa Watkinson receives Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition Forward Award
Local environmental justice leader and IAS alum Melissa Watkinson has been selected to receive a Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition Forward Award. Watkinson is a social scientist with Washington Sea Grant where she supports the social science efforts on the Olympic Coast Ocean Acidification Vulnerability study, a community-based participatory project with WA’s coastal treaty tribes. She is also the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ...
September 11, 2020
Midia De Souza: Making a positive impact on immigration
Midia De Souza graduated with a double major in Law, Economics & Public Policy and in Media & Communication Studies with a minor in Human Rights. She plans to become a lawyer to help immigrants.
September 8, 2020
Amadanyo Oguara publishes “Asanda of Agirisaba”
Alum Amadanyo Oguara (’16) has published his second book, Asanda of Agirisaba, now available as eBook and in paperback on Amazon. Asanda of Agirisaba is the sci-fi story of an African heroine princess from Agirisaba, a sub-kingdom of The Nembe Kingdom of Nigeria, in West Africa, who by abduction, journeys to a "Fascinating Alien World Of Saturna" and acquires "Weapons of Magical Powers" from the Saturnian Moons of Ringa, Sworda, Spearda, and Shielda and returns back to Earth to become an "Intermediary of Peace and Environmental Crusader" in The Coastal Kingdoms of The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The book fulfills Oguara’s vision of the African female heroine...
August 27, 2020
Jeff Ketchel: How an environmental health career MAPS out
Jeff Ketchel says his Master of Arts in Policy Studies (’08) gave him skills needed to head health districts and now serve as executive director of the Washington State Public Health Association. As a public health leader, Ketchel is grateful for his interdisciplinary training, which helps him view public health at the intersection of science and human behavior.
August 19, 2020
Julie Shayne publishes open-access book celebrating fifty years of gender, women, and sexuality studies
IAS faculty member Julie Shayne spent her sabbatical editing an open-access book titled Persistence is Resistance: Celebrating 50 Years of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies. Shayne, who is currently the Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) faculty coordinator, brought together authors from twenty-two institutions, including the University of Ghana and Universidad Icesi in Cali, Colombia. Authors represent ...
August 13, 2020
Priya Frank appointed as SAM’s first Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Priya Frank has been appointed as Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Seattle Art Museum (SAM). This new roles grows out of Frank’s ongoing work at SAM to integrate racial equity into the museum’s strategic priorities. ...
August 11, 2020
Stephanie Chavez: Alum found UW Bothell and found herself
Stephanie Chavez was thinking about attending a community college, but her school counselor suggested she apply to universities. Now, she’s grateful she found not just the right campus location, but also the educational experiences and the faculty and staff support that has helped her affirm her identity, showed her how she could make a difference in her community and set her on a path to a career in law.
August 3, 2020
Gabrielle Fox publishes article about the myth of “The American Meritocracy”
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) alum Gabrielle Fox (’19) put her degree to work in a research article “Pull Yourself up by Your Bootstraps: An American Mythology,” published in the UW Bothell student journal The Crow (2020 edition). The article systematically debunks the idea that level of effort is equivalent to level of success in the United States. Those who struggle ...
July 30, 2020