Meet Your CORE Professors
Search by Last Name
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
A
Abubakar Alhassan
Name: Abubakar Alhassan
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Globalization
Victoria Arthur
Name: Victoria Arthur
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: War and the Virtual World
B
Jason Barnes
Name: Jason W. Barnes
Department or Organization: Physics
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Colleges and Degrees: B.S. 1998 Astronomy, California Institute of Technology; Ph.D. 2004 Planetary Science, University of Arizona
Short Biography: I am a new addition to the University of Idaho, arriving in 2008 Fall. My background is in the study of planets, both those in our solar system and the new extra-solar planets discovered around stars other than the Sun. Presently, I am associated with both the NASA Cassini mission presently exploring Saturn and with the NASA Kepler mission, launched this year to find the first Earth-sized planets around stars other than the Sun.
Research Interests: Orbital dynamics and planetary physics of Extrasolar Planets and Saturn's Moon Titan.
Why I Teach Core: As this is only my second year at the U of I, I volunteered to teach Core this fall in order to get to know and understand a broad spectrum University of Idaho students.
Core Courses Teaching: Physics in Everyday Life
Favorite Quote: "That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind."
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.barnesos.net/pro
Justin Barnes
Name: Justin Barnes
Department or Organization: HPERD
Hometown: Moscow, Idaho
Colleges and Degrees: BS Public Relations, BA Spanish, MS Sport Management and Recreation, University of Idaho.
Short Biography: I recently finished my Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Sport Philosophy and Pedagogy from the University of Idaho. In addition, I hold a Master of Science degree in Recreation, a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Communication, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. Before returning to the Palouse to pursue my doctoral degree in 2006, I worked two years at Ruder Finn Public Relations and Marketing in New York City. This will be my second year as an instructor in Sports and American Society and my first year teaching Sex and Culture. Aside from my Core Discovery responsibilities, I also teach a graduate course at Washington State University concerning business ethics within sport management.
Research Interests: My research projects include moral reasoning pedagogy for collegiate students, ethical aggression in sport, intentional rule violation in sport, and the development of a servant leadership curriculum for coaches. I am presently employed as a research assistant at the University of Idaho’s Center for ETHICS*. Also, before returning to the Palouse to pursue my doctoral degree in 2006, I worked two years at Ruder Finn Public Relations and Marketing in New York City, where I did some research concerning technology company trends in marketing.
Why I Teach Core: I chose to teach the Core Curriculum because I believe its mission is to instill a foundation of honesty, responsibility, respect, and justice within freshmen students that will guide their university experience. My responsibility is to foster an atmosphere of openness, creativity, and reflection within our classroom. In addition, I feel Core Discovery’s objectives are to promote a collaborative and interactive experience where students lack fear and positively exchange thoughts and dialogue concerning our best interests.
Core Courses Teaching: Sports and American Society
Course/Personal Website URL: Wish I had one, and I’m not on Facebook.
Denise Bennett
Name: Denise Bennett
Colleges and Degrees: 2000 MA Electronic Media & Film/Education, Eastern Washington University; 1997 BA Radio/Television, Eastern Washington University
Research Interests: Televison and Film Production, Nonlinear Editing, Videography, Documentary
Why I Teach Core: I teach in the CORE Discovery because I am passionate about film and want to share that passion with undergraduate students.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Movies, the World, and You
Jeff Bohlscheid
Name: Jeffri C. Bolscheid
Department or Organization: School of Food Science
Hometown: California, Florida, Virginia, Hawaii
Colleges and Degrees: 1985 BA Psychology, University of California San Diego, Revelle College; 1988 Professional Chef Certificate with Honors, California Culinary Academy; 1998 BA Chemistry, Biochemistry Option, California State University Hayward; 2005 Ph.D. Food Science, Washington State University
Short Biography: I developed my interest in food and science as I grew up moving around the US and experiencing regional cuisines. I graduated with a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in learning and motivation at UCSD in my first pass through a university, but my first love was food. After school I worked in restaurants in California and eventually graduated from the California Culinary Academy professional chef program in San Francisco. After working in various restaurants and consulting for hospitals in the San Francisco area, I returned to school and earned a degree in Chemistry from CSU Hayward in order to apply for graduate school in Food Science. Somewhere in the middle of this I taught and competed in skydiving. I earned my PhD in Food Science (2005) at WSU working on wine microbiology. I am now on the faculty at the University of Idaho teaching food chemistry courses and Core Integrated Science and Discovery courses while researching “molecular gastronomy” and better ways to educate undergraduate students. Outside of academia, I enjoy cooking, gardening, camping, and fishing with my family.
Research Interests: Enology, Food Chemistry, Food Fermentations, Flavor Chemistry, Culinology, Molecular Gastronomy, Undergraduate Food Science Education Pedagogy.
Why I Teach Core: I teach Core for the opportunity to scramble the minds and the expectations of 18 year-olds and assist them in merging successfully onto the road to life.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Globalization
Favorite Quote: See one, do one, teach one; “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” Randy Pausch
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/sfs/Bohlscheid_Profile.htm
C
Brandon Chapman
Name: Brandon Chapman
Department or Organization: CORE, Academic Affairs
Hometown: Galesburg, Illinois
Colleges and Degrees: 2002 BA Sociology and Anthropology, DePauw University; 2004 MSS Sociology, Utah State University; 2011 (expected) Ph.D. Anthropology, Washington State University
Short Biography: I'm a student of economic and cognitive anthropology finishing my doctorate at Washington State University. Most of my graduate work has been in maritime fisheries as I've researched and worked in various fishing villages in Latin American and the Caribbean since 2003. My dissertation is a study of how cultural traditions and utility maximization shape the economic choices and behavior of two ethnic groups in a Trinidad village. I previously completed an analysis of local fishery management institutions in case studies of several Latin American fishing communities, while also briefly working in a northern Peruvian fishing town. Through my fishery projects, I'm interested in how local cultural components (e.g. models, norms) can be used to improve international and community development projects. Starting in 2007, I expanded into ranching through collaboration with the National Park Service. I'm writing monographs covering the economic and cultural histories of two western historic sites, the Grant-Kohrs NHS in Montana and the Bar U Ranch in Alberta. My focus area with these also involves economic choice; understanding how prominent ranchers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made investment decisions and their strategies to manage the rangelands they used. In addition, my study of the Bar U also looks at transmission of these strategies between ranchers across the U.S.-Canada border.
Research Interests: Economic anthropology (cooperation, investment choices, international development), cognitive decision-making (cultural models, ethnographic decision models), natural resource management (common-pool resources, small-scale fisheries, ranching), Caribbean, Rocky Mountain West.
Why I Teach Core: Helping new university students discover the latest information and ideas along with training them how to become higher quality learners is a thrill for me. The CORE program provides the resources to and structure to more easily make those discoveries.
Core Courses Teaching: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
Favorite Classroom Memory: While discussing U.S. immigration in my “Race, Ethnicity, and Identity” class, one student (the child of a first-generation citizen and recent immigrant) shared her mothers’ first-hand and harsh experiences with racism and discrimination that were humiliating for her mother at the time. It was a key turning point for numerous students who questioned the existence of prejudice and did not have recent ancestors who had experienced discrimination.
Course/Personal Website URL: none
Joseph Cloud
Name: Joseph G. Cloud
Core Courses Teaching: Human Reproduction: Science, Ethics and the Law
D
Sayantani Dasgupta
Name: Sayantani Dasgupta
Department or Organization: History
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Colleges and Degrees: BA History, St. Stephen’s College Delhi University; MFA Creative Writing-Non Fiction, University of Idaho
Short Biography: I am originally from Delhi, India. I have Master’s degrees in History and Creative Writing. My hobbies include reading, writing, teaching, and cooking. My ideal life would have one trip every month filled with exotic cuisine. According to me, the best part about teaching is the opportunity to explore an unending sea of subjects and approaching them from many, often inconceivably-related, aspects.
Research Interests: Historical non-fiction, Travel Writing, Medieval History of India, World Religions, The Politics of Religion Across Time and Cultures.
Why I teach Core: It combines my interest in an area that I am particularly keen to explore and learn and gives me a unique insight into American freshman life.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Sacred Journey
Favorite Quote: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? -- M K Gandhi
Course/Personal Website URL: (personal blog) www.kirrinisland.blogspot.com
Christine Dixon
Name: Christine A. Dixon
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Earth and Our Place In It
Gregory Wood Donohoe
Name: Gregory W. Donohoe
Department or Organization: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Hometown: Clarkston, Michigan
Colleges and Degrees: 1976 BS Electronic Engineering Technology, Lake Superior State University; 1982 MS Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico; 1989 Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico
Short Biography: I grew up in southeastern Michigan and served in the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War. After returning, I married Mary Wertman, and went to college on the G.I. Bill. With my new B.S. degree I went to work at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, and did an M.S. and Ph.D. part time at the University of New Mexico. Mary and I raised two sons, James, who is an emergency room nurse in Albuquerque, and Brian, a jazz saxophonist. I served on the faculties of the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Tech, specializing in digital image processing and machine vision. I became a Senior Scientist at Kestrel Corporation, doing research in medical imaging, then the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop electronics for spacecraft. Fluent in Spanish, I have done medical service work in Mexico and taught in Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru. In 2002 Mary and I moved to Moscow, Idaho, where I joined the engineering faculty, and Mary completed a degree in music education and learned to play Zimbabwe marimba. I play double bass with a 15-piece community swing orchestra, the Hog Heaven Big Band.
Research Interests: Energy-efficient and embedded computing, reconfigurable computing, digital system design, digital signal processing and digital image processing applications.
Why I Teach Core: The topic area is important, and highly relevant to the Power and Energy Systems focus of my department.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Energy and Ethics in the 21st Century
Favorite Quote: “Enjoy life while you are living, for you are a long time dead.” – Scottish proverb, “The best way to keep from getting lost is to know exactly where you are all the time.” – Jamey Aebersold
Course/Personal Website URL: none
E
Daniel Edwards
Name: W. Daniel Edwards
Core Courses Teaching: Color, Chemistry and Art
F
Ken Faunce
Name: Ken Faunce
Department or Organization: History
Hometown: Casper, Wyoming
Colleges and Degrees: 1990 BA History/Anthropology, New Mexico State University; 1992 MA Anthropology, New Mexico State University; 1993 MA History, New Mexico State University; 2000 Ph.D. History/Historical Archaeology, University of Idaho
Short Biography: I received my Ph.D. from the University of Idaho, and I spent years working for the federal government as a historian and archaeologist. I have taught at UI since 2000, and I live in Moscow, Idaho with my wife and two daughters. Also, I have taught at WSU since 2000. I approach my classes from a global and multi-disciplinary perspective with the goal of promoting critical thinking. Also, writing, research, and information literacy are a major focus. My doctorate is in History/Historical Archeology, so I approach the topics discussed from a historical and anthropological viewpoint.
Research Interests: Nineteenth and twentieth century U.S. history with an emphasis on globalization, Gender studies, race/ethnicity.
Why I Teach Core: I believe that the Core Discovery courses are the foundation for a student’s successful university career. It is important to make connections for life long learning.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Globalization
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: I enjoy it when my students become engaged and knowledgeable global citizens. This last year two of my students decide to join the Peace Corps after graduation in order to become more active in the world. “It's not what you find, it's what you find out.” David Hurst-Thomas.
Course/Personal Website URL: CORE 113/163 Globalization
Jeff Filler
Name: Jeff R. Filler
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The New Wild West
Larry Forney
Name: Dr. Larry Forney
Department or Organization: Biological Sciences
Hometown: None -- I've lived in 10 places in 6 states and 2 foreign countries.
Colleges and Degrees: 1975 BS Michigan State University; 1978 MS Michigan State University; 1982 PhD Michigan State University
Short Biography: I received my Ph.D. in Microbiology and Public Health from Michigan State University in 1982. Following graduation, I worked for several years as a senior scientist at Synergen Inc. before returning to Michigan State to be the Associate Director of the National Science Foundation Center for Microbial Ecology. In 1997, I joined the University of Groningen as Professor of Microbial Ecology in the Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies. I have been at the University of Idaho since 2000 where I have served as Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. I am currently the director of the Initiative for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies (IBEST) in which I am the principle investigator of an NIH Center for Biomedical Research. I am internationally renowned for my research in microbial evolution and ecology, and am a member of the American Academy for Microbiology. My research focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that lead to patterns of diversity in microbial communities; included are studies on the ecology and dynamics of communities that constitute the human micro biome and how they respond to disturbances; adaptive evolution in bacterial biofilms; as well as succession and the biogeography of prokaryotes in various environments. For several years I have taught the Bioethics course and several others in the CORE curriculum at the University of Idaho.
Research Interests: My research is focused on understanding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that lead to patterns of diversity in microbial communities. Included are studies on the ecology and dynamics of communities that constitute the human microbiome and how they respond to disturbances; adaptive evolution in bacterial biofilms; as well as succession and the biogeography of prokaryotes in various environments. Most of these studies are highly interdisciplinary in nature.
Why I Teach Core: It is a unique opportunity to teach key elements of biology and ethical theory that will enable students to make informed judgments about the uses and possible abuses of advances in medicine, scientific research, the environment, and many other interdisciplinary areas.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Bioethics and Core Discovery: Looking Up! A Crash Course in Global Citizenship
Favorite Quote: "Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?" ~ George Bernard Shaw
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/biosci/faculty/forney.html
G
Johnathan Gerber
Name: Johnathan Luke Gerber
Core Courses Teaching: Feel the Groove: The Generations of Jazz From Blues to Hip-Hop
Robert Goodrich
Name: Robert S. Goodrich
Department or Organization: Geography
Hometown: Moscow, Idaho
Colleges and Degrees: BA Geography/Geology, California State University, Chico; BS Ed Secondary Education, University of Idaho; MS Geography, University of Idaho
Short Biography: I have taught in various roles for the University of Idaho as well as other institutions. I have also worked for several years in the field of tourism. In that capacity, I was fortunate enough to travel to a variety of locations around the planet working as a guide, naturalist and tour director. In my spare time, I enjoy training and competing in long distance running and triathlon events, a plethora of outdoor activities, and also umpire the occasional game of baseball. I retain my unconditional love of traveling and exploring new and interesting locales. “See the world” is the motto I coined and continue to live by. Of all the places I have worked, lived in and visited, I have never found anywhere nicer than Moscow, Idaho and am proud to consider this small piece of paradise my home.
Research Interests: The American West, Travel & Tourism, Socio-Economic Effects of Secondary Education around the World.
Why I Teach Core: When offered the chance to teach a CORE course, I jumped at the opportunity of a class composed entirely of incoming freshmen! I am a lifelong proponent of education, having greatly benefited from the process myself (especially my own freshman year), and am committed to providing the same positive experiences to my students. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed every class during my years of teaching at the University of Idaho, the experience with my first CORE class during the 2008-09 school year was extraordinary, and I am greatly looking forward to continuing within the program.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Earth and Our Place In It
Favorite Quote: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”. Lennon/McCartney
Course/Personal Website URL: none
H
Douglas Habib
Name: Douglas Habib
Department or Organization: Core
Hometown: Pullman, Washington
Colleges and Degrees: 1988 BA History, San Jose State University; 1993 MA History, San Jose State University; 2003 PhD History, Washington State University
Short Biography: I grew up in San Jose, California in a stable middle class family. I was in the first generation of my family to complete my college education and after graduation from San Jose State University I worked in the Defense Investigative Service; a branch of the Department of Defense that specialized in security investigations. After four years work in which I learned many interesting (and occasionally distasteful) things about human behavior, I became bored and decided a career change was in order. I returned to obtain my M.A. in History from San Jose State University and then my Ph.D. from Washington State University. I am currently an itinerant lecturer and teach many, many, many freshmen-level classes at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. I find such classes and students to be among the most challenging and rewarding in the university. When not in the classroom, I can be found staying one step ahead of my enemies by playing soccer, working out in the gym, studying up on pedagogy, or playing with my daughters Ursula and Sophia, and my wife, Becky.
Research Interests: Research Interests include U.S. led military occupations during the Wilson Administration; oral histories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; representations of conflict in virtual environments.
Why I Teach Core: I teach in Core because the program offers challenging inter-disciplinary courses. I particularly like the smaller class sizes and the ability to see growth in everybody over the course of two semesters; I believe that together we create positive changes in the first year.
Core Courses Teaching: War and the Virtual World; Movies, the World, and You
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: Hearing a student in one of my Core classes saying that their family noticed a lot of growth in them during the fall semester they had been away at the University of Idaho; “Damn their oily hides!” –C. Montgomery Burns
Course/Personal Website URL: none
Jean Henscheid
Name: Jean Henscheid
Hometown: Blackfoot, Idaho
Colleges and Degrees: Idaho State University (B.A. History, Master's of Public Administration); Washington State University (Ph.D. Education. Dissertation: Residential learning communities and the freshman year.)
Research Interests: college student learning; college teaching and assessment methods; integrated learning and learning communities; the first-year and senior-year experience; general education; curricular/co-curricular design.
Why I teach Core: Since I was in first grade my best learning experiences have had as their foundation the integrative and social nature of learning. The UI's Core Curriculum is a perfect match for my interests and, besides, who doesn't love to become intellectually engaged with dozens of young adults at the beginning of their college careers?! For me, there's no better or more worthy work than general education.
Core Courses Teaching: I am taking a hiatus from teaching this year to focus on making the lives of our instructors and peer mentors as good as they can be. I will be back to the classroom! I have taught education, leadership, and research methods courses at Washington State University at the undergraduate and graduate level and happily taught in the UI Core Curriculum for four years as a Sex and Culture: Women and Men in the 21st Century instructor.
Course/Personal Website URL Wish I had one. You can find lots of what I care about at http://www.students.uidaho.edu/core. I'm not on Facebook. I'm afraid of it!
I
J
David Jeffery
Name: David J. Jeffery
Department or Organization: Physics
Hometown: Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Colleges and Degrees: 1981 BSc Physics, McMaster University; 1984 MSc McMaster University; 1988 PhD Physics, McMaster University
Short Biography: I was born in Port Colborne,Ontario, Canada and received my Ph.D. degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I've worked as a postdoc and course instructor at the University of Oklahoma and Harvard University and spent a year as a visitor at the astronomy institute of the University of Munich. I've spent a year at the University of the Barcelona on a fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and two years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as postdoctoral research associate. I've been a visiting assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Middle Tennessee State University, Idaho State University, and New Mexico Tech. I am a member of the Canadian Astronomical Society.
Research Interests: Theoretical Astrophysics, Radiative Transfer, Supernovae
Why I Teach Core: The chair of my department assigned me to co-teach a core science class.
Core Courses Teaching: Physics in Everyday Life
Favorite Quote: Becoming Irish
I am becoming Irish and have my passport for proof,
I have the Luck, the half and half, the good and the bad,
I am permitted to see leprechauns, as my grandfather saw,
from the udders of cows drawing milk in a stream and over the Moon,
I am permitted to say I've done nothing all day
without a trace of negative guilt,
but with a trail of positive glee,
I am permitted to say I'm sorry for your troubles
and have done with the gunman's hate,
and though a descendant of bloody Prod Orangemen,
I swear to the green, the shamrock, and the harp,
the choice of Henry VIII for his kingdom of Ireland
and the sign of the poet's art,
I am the descendant of Irish kings
and travel with tinkers in a donkey cart
from Dublin to Connaught
and stand on the hill with Adam Malloy
and bid from purgatory such deliverings
that a cry to heaven from the Mountain of Joy
can bid to end Earth's all sufferings.
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.phys.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=102152
Nick Jorgenson
Name: Nickolas J. Jorgenson
Core Courses Teaching: Riddles and Paradoxes: How the Culture of Markets Shape Our World; Past, Present, and Future
Georgia Johnson
Name: Georgia Johnson
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Shared Places; An Introduction to Tribal Cultures and Histories
Jason Johnstone-Yellin
Name: Jason Johnstone-Yellin
Hometown: Pullman, WA (Originally from Ayr in the SW of Scotland)
Colleges and Degrees: MA (Hons) University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Research Interests: Applied Ethics: Bioethics and Global Justice, The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, Critical thinking for educators
Why I teach Core: I love the energy the freshmen bring to the classroom. Having a chance to show them how exciting intellectual endeavors can be and how rewarding it is to grapple with weighty questions (whether or not one can come up with a suitable answer) gives me such a rush. I'm always excited to enter the CORE classroom.
Core Courses Teaching: Bioethics; Looking Up! A Crash Course in Global Citizenship
Course/Personal Website URL: The closest I got to this was when I signed on to Facebook a couple of years ago because my students kept asking me why I wasn't on it. Earlier this summer one of my former students 'purchased' me as his 'pet.' I no longer go near Facebook.
K
Sharon Kehoe
Name: Sharon Kehoe
Department or Organization: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Study Abroad
Hometown: Genesee, Idaho
Colleges and Degrees: 1970 BA Art/Psychology, San Jose State University; 1990 MA Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies; 1997 PhD Religion/Philosophy, California Institute of Integral Studies
Short Biography: I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in Berkeley, California, by my mother, the ballerina and my father, the doctor. We were the epitome of an Irish Catholic family, which I mention because I am now in religious studies.
After earning a B.A. in Art and a minor in Psychology at San Jose State University, I moved to San Francisco to enter the world of graphics and advertising, which I later continued in Paris. Eventually I yearned for something more meaningful. I went back to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology and then a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religion. I met my husband at the graduate school. We were in the same program and studied world religions, especially Buddhism and Christianity. My dissertation was a spiritual autobiography that explored East - West connections. This lead me to travel to the largest Buddhist monument in the world and the “Notre Dame” churches in France. And eventually it led me to teaching the importance of “sacred journey”, the class which was developed from the World Religions class I used to teach. I have now been teaching world religions in the context of sacred journey for twelve years.
Research Interests: Religious Studies, World Religions, Woman’s Spirituality, Sacred Art, The Sacred Journey, Women in Religion, Buddhism, Christianity, Mary Magdalene.
Why I Teach Core: In this day and age, I cannot think of anything more important than trying to understand other peoples sense of what is sacred and how to find it. Perhaps if we had more of this kind of understanding we would not have so much war and perhaps would treasure each other more fully as family. The Core program provides this.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Sacred Journey
Favorite Quote: “…Curiouser and curiouser” (said Alice) from Alice in Wonderland Although I already said that my favorite and most self defining quote is “curiouser and curiouser” from Alice in Wonderland, she, Alice is my heroine. Her story defines me, especially the ending, where she says, “why, you are nothing but a pack of cards!” Her story is a “sacred journey.”
Course/Personal Website URL: www.cccenter.org
Marc Klowden
Name: Marc Klowden
Department or Organization: Entomology
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Colleges and Degrees: BS Biology, University of Illinois; MS Biology, University of Illinois; PhD Biology and Experimental Pathology, University of Illinois; Post-doctoral, University of Georgia
Short Biography: I grew up in Chicago and received my undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois. After receiving my Ph.D., I did a post-doc studying mosquito physiology at the University of Georgia for 3 years, remained there for 2 additional years as a research scientist, and came to the University of Idaho in 1981.
Research Interests: Mosquito physiology, reproduction, and behavior. My work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health for the past 30 years. I’ve also written 2 textbooks on insect physiology. I’m the Editor of 3 scientific journals.
Why I teach Coe: I believe that a general education requires an appreciation of some basic scientific concepts and a consideration of why science is such a powerful tool for learning about and understanding our world. Insects are great animals to use to gain insights into many of the principles that govern our own existence.
Core Courses Teaching: This fall I’m teaching the Core course, “Insects: the Little Things that Run the World.” I also teach “Insects and Human Health” and a graduate level course in insect physiology.
Favorite Classroom Memory: When the students in my class stood up and applauded at the end of the semester. And I hope not because the semester was over.
Course/Personal Website URL: The web is a wonderful resource for information, but I don’t believe that it has much relevance for teaching.
Edwin Krumpe
Name: Edwin E. Krumpe
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Earth and Our Place On It
L
M
David McIlroy
Name: David McIlroy
Department or Organization: Physics
Hometown: Laguna Beach, California
Colleges and Degrees: 1984 BA Physics; 1993 PhD Physics
Short Biography: I like physics and muscle cars.
Research Interests: I am an experimental condensed matter physicist and my interests are the electronic, optical and chemical properties of nano-scale materials.
Why I Teach Core: Teach students how to appreciate physics by relating it to their everyday life.
Core Courses Teaching: Physics in Everyday Life
Favorite Classroom Memory: A student had been struggling in my class. He asked me what he needed to do to succeed. I gave him advice and a strategy to follow. He worked hard and when he turned in his final exam he said his exam was the test ‘key’. He was correct.
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.students.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=27074
Carl Mickelsen
Name: J. Carl Mickelsen
Department or Organization: Philosophy
Hometown: None - I have lived in rural Latah County the last 30 years
Colleges and Degrees: 1973 BA Philosophy, Portland State University; 1977 MA Philosophy, Washington State University; 1992 JD, University of Idaho
Short Biography: As a youth, I intensely disliked school. When I turned 17, I quit high school and joined the US Navy. My timing in this was not the best since the Gulf of Tonkin incident – the pretext for the escalation of the “war” in Vietnam – occurred while I was in basic training. Nonetheless, I survived and after 4 years of service was honorably discharged. For the next decade, I intermittently attended college and eventually earned an MA in Philosophy. This duly qualified me to work as a carpenter, which I did for the next several years. I then started my own small construction firm. When my body rebelled and I could no longer perform heavy labor, I folded the business and went to law school. While in law school, I began teaching in the Philosophy Department at the UI. Upon graduating from law school, I was hired as an attorney by a non-profit disabilities rights organization. I am still employed in both this job and as an instructor at UI. I live on 12 acres near Viola, Idaho with my wife of 20+ years.
Research Interests: Discovering isolated beaches in Mexico, Western ethics, Marxism, contemporary media
Why I teach Core: I teach in the Core in an attempt to deflect and extract the bullets in the head.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Understanding Media: Culture, Meaning, & Power
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: “Least of all should an intellectual be there to make his/her audience feel good: The whole point is to be embarrassing, contrary, even unpleasant.” Edward Said, Representations of the Intellectual
“Orthodoxy means not thinking -- not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.” George Orwell, 1984.
There is no single memory but there are a series of memories, viz., the varying times when the facial expressions of the class as a whole – dread, shock, surprise, bewilderment, delight – reveal that they “got it,” the intended point of the lesson.
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/mickelsen/
N
Jamie Nekich
Name: Jamie Nekich
Department or Organization: Psychology, Communication Studies
Hometown: I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
Colleges and Degrees: 1981 BS Business, University of Idaho; 1989 MS Organizational Behavior, Stanford University; 1991 MS Personality Psychology, Stanford University; 1991 PhD Counseling Psychology, Stanford University
Short Biography: I am a licensed clinical psychologist with interests in creating purposeful living through mindfulness, creativity, and exploration of the inner landscape. I use art, theatre, dream, and dialogue as pathways to self discovery, self expression, and healing. I attended the University of Idaho as an undergraduate and moved to California to study at Stanford University for graduate training. I remain an active, curious life-long learner and have studied and offered workshops on dream, self reflection, and art as discovery. Early in my career I studied family conflict and effective parenting. I was supported by federal grants to spend two years at the University of California Berkeley studying the transition to parenthood and two years at the University of Washington to study classroom and family responses to behavioral problems in children. At the conclusion of this work I chose to conclude my research career and pursue applied work in clinical psychology. Since 2005 I have focused on workshop development and professional training that integrates mindfulness, art, and imaginative journey as pathways to psychological healing. I am an innovative professor who offers multidisciplinary perspectives and experiential learning in my classrooms.
Research Interests: I'm not a researcher. I undertake projects at the intersection of theory and creativity; projects that utilize existing psychological knowledge in unique and innovative ways. I create experimental workshops for professionals and courses on topics related to dream, imagination, creativity, and personal development. I utilize expressive art, theatre techniques, and awareness of body to gain access to the unconscious and utilize that material creatively. I travel extensive to study and teach in these areas. I love my work. I have fun in my work and I feel that what I do helps others make discoveries that improve their lives.
Why I teach Core: I don’t think there is a more meaningful job I could do. I love figuring out how image and mindfulness can lead to self understanding and more fulfilled living. I’m inspired by this class to learn and explore and every year I learn much from my students as I am teaching them. We share our stories, our wisdom, humor, creativity, and, at times, our criticisms. But we create a learning community. We create a context where dialogue and experiences can honestly be shared and we expand our views. Little by little we get to know ourselves and each other in amazing and authentic ways. I like what we create together – it is time well spent. Core Discovery rocks!
Core Courses Teaching: Art, Artists & Madness
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: “We gain strength and courage and confidence by each experience by which we really stop and look fear in the face …..we must do that which we think we can’t” by Eleanor Roosevelt
It’s hard to choose one. The things that touch me most are the small things like the two students who became good friends working in small group, shared their stories and dreams, supported one another….and remained friends for years (or in one case got married). Making art on huge paper canvases with spray paint. Seeing the giddy mischief when students learn it can be ok to spray paint the four letter words in a college project. The student who hasn’t spoken in class all semester risking it the first time to tell her story of being picked on in high school and getting authentic warm support from the class. How quiet it gets in class whenever we do drawings with oil pastels. Watching students take healthy learning risks and be larger in the room after doing so.
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/nekich/core120/index.htm
O
P
Julia Parker
Name: Julia Parker
Department or Organization: Agricultural Economics
Hometown: Kettering, Ohio
Why I Teach Core: I enjoy teaching in an interdisciplinary, dynamic way.
Students should be exposed to this type of teaching early in their academic careers.
Core Courses Teaching:Core Discovery: Energy and Ethics in the 21st Century
Ivan Peterson
Name: Ivan L. Peterson
Hometown: Star, Idaho (raised on a Mink Ranch)
Colleges and Degrees: BSU: 1983-87 (Chemistry); UI: 89 (History-BS and Philosophy-BS); UI: 90 (Archeological Field school); UI: 92 (Classical Languages-BA); UI: 02 (Secondary Education Certification with 9 endorsements); UI: 04 (History-MA: Environmental History).
Research Interests: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern environmental history. Rapier handbook of Capo Ferro (1610). Ethical/Moral schemas in the world’s religious traditions; the problem of Evil (Sacred Monsters) and the Hero/Saint World Religious traditions (Savior Archetype).
Why I teach Core: My background in Classics, History and Philosophy is very interdisciplinary in character. I believe that whatever tools allow a greater understanding of a people, place, time should be used. I think that is the single greatest strength ( and weakness) of the CORE curriculum is its interdisciplinary character. In addition, I was interested in having a team teaching experience. I am proud to be a part of two excellent teams delivering high quality educational opportunities for the students.
I love teaching ‘The Monsters We Make” because it is so cool. I get paid to talk to people about vampires, Dragons, etc. In addition, I taught ethics here at U. of I. and LC SC for 11 years and I am fascinated with moral discourse. The most powerful way that societies engage in ethics is through stories. Monsters as archetypes for evil allow us to understand how stories function as moral arguments.
I teach “The Sacred Journey” as part of my own sacred journey. I hope by learning about world religious traditions the students and I can gain a greater more subtle understanding of others as well as ourselves. Today more than any other time in history the religious beliefs of people half a world away shape our own lives. As a general survey course, the information will be invaluable over the next 60 years.
Core Courses Teaching: The Monsters We Make: The Sacred Journey.
Course/Personal Website URL: www.class.uidaho.edu/ivan
Steven Peterson
Name: Steven S. Peterson
Department or Organization: Business and Economics
Hometown: Lewiston, Idaho
Colleges and Degrees: 1985 BS Business Administration, Lewis-Clark State Colleger; 1991 MS Economics, University of Idaho
Short Biography: I am a lifelong Idaho resident, born and raised in Lewiston. I enjoy the people of Moscow, the climate, and the natural scenic-recreational opportunities. I have been teaching for nearly 17 years and find the classroom environment invigorating. My research interests are local and regional economic analysis, with a focus on economic impact assessments. My hobbies are fencing, long distance running, snowboarding, and hiking.
Research Interests: Local and regional economic analysis, economic impact assessments, community development, and business entrepreneurship.
Why I Teach Core: I enjoy the cooperative, interdisciplinary nature of the program. The CORE provides a solid platform for developing a challenging integrated curriculum for new freshmen students.
Core Courses Teaching: Riddles and Paradoxes: How the Culture of Markets Shape Our World: Past, Present & Future
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: “The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” John Maynard Keynes
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Winston Churchill
Course/Personal Website URL: none
Q
R
Jan Mason Rauk
Name:
Core Courses Teaching:
S
Darin Saul
Name: Darin Saul
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: The Earth and Our Place On It
Elizabeth Sloan
Name: Elizabeth Sloan
Department or Organization: Core
Hometown: Fort Madison, Iowa. Home of Sheaffer Pen Company and the State Penitentiary, aka "Pen City."
Colleges and Degrees: University of Iowa, BS Art Education (1976) Des Moines Area Community College, Graphics Art degree (1980) University of Idaho, MFA Creative Writing/nonfiction (2008). Thesis: When Songbirds Returned to Paris
Short Biography: I have worked as an artist in Iowa, North Carolina, Czechoslovakia, and Idaho. Before owning a graphics design business in Iowa in the 80’s, I worked at Better Homes and Garden Magazine and in-house Real Estate design studio. My art has been published in nationally distributed books and magazines. In 2008 I completed my MFA in creative writing, with a thesis pertaining to a relative who was a spy in France during WWII. I continue to combine words and art in handmade artists books that I create in my home studio.
Research Interests: WWII, the French Resistance and Special Operations Executives; Creative teaching techniques; Gender themes.
Why I teach Core: The students are refreshing in their ability to receive mind-bending ideas. There is room to make an impact on the direction some of these first year students pursue and to be part of the foundation of the college experience in a way that can be rewarding for me as well as for them.
Core Courses Teaching: Sex and Culture: War and the Virtual World
Favorite Quote: “If you don't have red, use blue.” Picasso
Course/Personal Website URL: Perhaps in the future.
Matthew Sowder
Name: Matthew Sowder
Hometown: Walla, Washington--only lived there 6 months
Colleges and Degrees: University of Idaho (1994), BS: Political Science, BS: Philosophy; University of Idaho (2001), Masters of Science in Education
Research Interests: Social Justice Issues
Why I teach Core: The paycheck. I also like the curriculum, the interaction and the communities constructed within the courses I am a part of.
Core Courses Teaching: Race and Ethnicity
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~sowder/
Ken Sprenke
Name: Ken Sprenke
Hometown: St Louis, Missouri
Colleges and Degrees: St Louis University BS Geophysical Engineering University of Alberta, Canada M.Sc. Geophysics Ph.D. Physics
Research Interests: Planetary geology, earthquake seismology
Why I teach Core: I enjoy interacting with students from diverse disciplines.
Core Courses Teaching: Exploring the Solar System
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.mines.uidaho.edu/~geology
Sharon Stoll
Name: Sharon Kay Stoll
Department or Organization: Director for Center for Ethics
Hometown: Presently live in Potlatch, rather on a ranch outside of Potlatch.
Colleges and Degrees: Ph.D., Kent State
Short Biography: I serve as the Director of the Center for ETHICS*. I am considered one of the leading authorities in competitive moral education intervention techniques for college aged students in America. Also a professor of Physical Education, I am a Distinguished Faculty Member and winner of a prestigious University of Idaho Outreach Award in 2000, and a U of I Teaching Award in 1992. A former public school teacher, coach, and athlete, I hold a Ph.D. in Sport Philosophy from Kent State University, and am the creator and director of one of the few programs in America that is directed toward moral education with competitive populations. I am well known for my knowledge in teaching and methodology as applied to pedagogy in moral education and character development. Many of my students have developed measurement evaluation tools and other curriculum designs that are impacting the knowledge of moral development in sport. Author of eight books including, "Who Says It's Cheating?" and "Sport Ethics: Applications for Fair Play", I am an active lecturer and consultant on various character issues, including moral education, moral reasoning, and moral development. I am or have been a consultant for the United States Navy, United States Air Force, the Idaho Bar Association, the American Bar Association, plus various sports organizations, including the President's Commission of the NCAA, the National Youth Sport Coaches' Association, the National Federation of High School Activities Association, and many more independent and private organizations. In 1993-4, I was in residence at the United States Military Academy at West Point, as a consultant for the Higher Education Program. I have been featured on such national programs as "Night Line", "ESPN Sports Center", "ESPN Chat Line", Fox Sports' "Goin' Deep", as well as numerous regional and local news shows as well as documentaries, national newspapers, and magazines. In 2005, I was featured in over 50 major newspapers in US and abroad describing the Center's latest project working with the Atlanta Braves. In 2007, I was named as a member of the 100 Most Influential Sport Educators in America with such individuals as Andre Agassi, William Bowen, Bob Costas, Tiger Woods, Pat Summitt, and Mike Krzyzewski. The mother of two girls, Amanda and Rachal, I live on the Crooked M Ranch in the Mineral Mountain Range of Idaho with my husband, Moscow attorney, Mark S. Moorer.
Research Interests: Sport ethics
Why I teach Core: I teach in the CORE because I love to teach my subject area, and I love to teach and learn with my students.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Sports and American Society
Favorite Quote: Pass it On! However you are inspired by our time together in the Core journey, may you pass it on to others.
Course/Personal Website URL: http://www.educ.uidaho.edu/center_for_ethics
T
U
V
Lee Vierling
Name: Lee A. Vierling
Department or Organization: Environmental Science, Rangeland Ecology and Management, Ecology and Conservation Biology
Colleges and Degrees: 1992 BA Geology, The Colorado College; 1999 PhD Environmental Biology, University of Colorado
Short Biography: My primary research interest is to study global environmental change by understanding the connections that link ecosystem structure with ecological function. I am particularly interested in developing and applying remote sensing techniques to study 1) exchanges of trace gases (e.g. carbon dioxide and water vapor) by vegetation canopies, 2) relationships between vegetation structure and wildlife habitat, and 3) the implications of land use and land cover change on ecological structure and function. I also strive to make cutting-edge discoveries in earth system science accessible and relevant to K-12 school children, and have led the creation of an elementary earth system science curriculum. My hobbies include bike touring, music, swimming, alternative energy sources, and remodeling old things.
Research Interests: Global change, land use change, landscape ecology, remote sensing, lidar, habitat conservation, biosphere-atmosphere interactions
Why I Teach Core: For one, teaching Freshmen rocks out loud. For two, my international travels and research experiences on the topic of global environmental change inspire me to understand what makes people from different cultures around the world “tick”. The UI Core program embraces the diversity of human thought and encourages students and faculty to explore together so that they come to understand and respect the ideas of others, regardless of whether those ideas are familiar or exotic. My hope is to contribute to this dialogue to make the world a better place through creative and inclusive problem solving.
Core Courses Teaching: Honors: Core Discovery: The Earth and Our Place On It
Favorite Quote: “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” --Grace Murray Hopper
Course/Personal Website URL: none
W
Matthew Wappett
Name: Matthew Wappett
Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska
Colleges and Degrees: B.A. in English from the University of Utah; M.Ed in Educational Studies from University of Utah; Ph.D. in Special Education & Disability Policy from University of Utah
Research Interests: Right now I am completing a study on the status of inclusive education in Idaho public schools and universities. I am also working on a book that applies spatial theory from human geography to the education of individuals with disabilities and its effect on discursive power relationships and how these power relationships are translated into brick and mortar institutional structures...in lay terms this means I'm interested in the geography of disability. I'm also interested in the relationship between the Romantic shift in Europe, the rise of statistics, and their relation to the birth of eugenics, widespread institutionalization of people with disabilities, and the emergence of the freak show.
Why I teach Core: I teach in the Core Curriculum because it allows me to take a yearlong journey with my students in which we all learn, grow, and come to appreciate the complexity of the world around us. I enjoy helping students understand that we live in an interdisciplinary and interconnected world; throughout the year we all learn to appreciate the interdependence of many different disciplines. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of teaching in the Core is watching and helping students evolve from passive participants into active learners as they rise to the challenges offered in these Core Discovery classes.
Core Courses Teaching: I'll be teaching two Core Discovery courses: "The Monsters We Make" and "What is Normal Anyway?". I'll also be teaching a course on Disability Studies in Education during the Spring semester 2009.
Course/Personal Website URL:
Monsters URL - http://www.idahocdhd.org/DNN/cd105-155
What is Normal URL - http://www.idahocdhd.org/DNN/cd122-172
Personal Website - www.idahodisability.blogspot.com
Dick Wilson
Name: Richard A. Wilson
Core Courses Teaching: Contemporary American Experience; Feel the Groove: The Generations of Jazz From Blues to Hip Hop
J.D. Wulfhorst
Name: J.D. Wulfhorst
Department or Organization: Environmental Science, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Colleges and Degrees: 1990 BA Interdisciplinary Studies, Appalachian State University; 1992 MA Sociological Theory/Inequality, University of Kentucky; 1997 PhD Rural Sociology/Natural Resources, Utah State University
Short Biography: I serve on the faculty of the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. I conduct research and teach in the areas of Natural Resource Sociology, Energy & Ethics, and social impact assessment for rural communities in the western United States. I also serve as Director of the Social Science Research Unit. I have a strong commitment to experiential learning, applied research, and the University’s land-grant relationships to the public of Idaho.
Research Interests: Rural community sociology; rangeland health; natural resource policy analysis; and adoption of conservation technology measures; environmental justice; social impact assessment.
Why I Teach Core: I think it’s important for incoming university students to be exposed to social science perspectives on complex and challenging issues facing society such as energy uses.
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Energy and Ethics in the 21st Century
Favorite Quote/Classroom Memory: When my previous courses have voted for me to continue service-learning opportunities despite all the challenges with fieldtrips and logistics. Show up. Pay attention. Ask questions. Don’t give up.
Course/Personal Website URL: none
X
Y
Stephen Yoder
Name: Stephen Yoder
Core Courses Teaching: Core Discovery: Sports and American Society
Z