AASHE Sustainability Workshop

CC is now an AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum – one of a handful of schools that offer workshops for AASHE member institutions.

This summer, faculty members have been busy developing new courses and brainstorming ways to integrate sustainability, sense of place and personal wellness into existing ones.

In its fourth year, the Sustainability Across the Curriculum Workshop included faculty from art, physics, English, economics and business, music, sociology, and history.  This year was the first year that the workshop included faculty from other campuses.

Excavating Israel

Sifting for coins, with Josh Alvarado (Class of 2020). Photo Credit: Tara Victor

The collection of ancient bronze coins, discovered in this small ceramic jar, discovered in Area 20 of Shikhin, Field I. Photo Credit: Steve Meigs

Taylor O’Donnell (Class of 2020) poses for a final photograph of her square. This area, supervised by Prof. Reaves, features a central wall and smooth plaster floor on the north side of the wall. Excavation of this area will likely continue in the 2018 season. Photo Credit: Steve Meigs

Professor Pamela Reaves (Religion) and students in her course “Excavating Israel: The Archeology of Ancient Judaism and Christianity” traveled to Israel to participate in an archaeological excavation.  At the site, Shikhin, an ancient Jewish village just outside the Roman-era city of Sepphoris, the CC group joined a larger crew of additional students and volunteers, directed by Professor James Strange of Samford University.

Our students were part of discovering a hoard of eleven ancient bronze coins, ranging in date from the second century BCE to the second century CE, featuring images of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian, a distinctive find! The group resided in nearby Nazareth and, on weekends, explored additional ancient sites in the Galilee region, including Beth Shean, Caesarea, Capernaum, and Magdala.

Following their work on the excavation, Professor Reaves and the students enjoyed a long weekend exploring the Old City in Jerusalem and taking excursions to Qumran, Masada, and the Dead Sea.

Summer Faculty Student Collaborative Research

Anika Grevstan with Joan E. Ericson- Scanning Japanese research documents into OCR; creating a bibliography

Robert Roth with Jennifer Garcia- The Localization of RNY1 and its Role in Promoting Mitochondria Function

Abby Wigdale with Jean Gumpper- Exploring the integration of digital media with reduction woodcut, intaglio and monoprint

Paige Anton and Katelin Teigen with Lori Driscoll – Probiotic influences on development of executive functioning in rats

Asheton Gilbertson- Burning Transformations- Fire history effects on organic matter processing along and through hillslope soils AND Kelsey Maxwell- How does fire shift the size, timing, and fate of laterally exported particulate and dissolved carbon pools from montane watersheds?

The unique relationships that form between students and faculty on the Block Plan give rise to great opportunities to continue their shared work during the summer. Over 125 CC students are on-campus this summer, engaged in collaborative research with 66 CC faculty members, from all divisions of the college.

CC’s Summer Collaborative Research Experience programming (known as SCoRE) provides the resources necessary to nurture budding researchers, including research stipends and scholarships for on-campus housing. SCoRE also includes a rich array of professional development workshops and social activities, complementing the rigorous academic experience and contributing to a vibrant sense of community.

Learning in the field remains a hallmark of the CC experience, and summer research is no different, with field trips to New Mexico and Denver, among other locations. Throughout the summer, students gather to share questions and present their findings to one another. Through these and other opportunities, our students get valuable feedback from their fellow researchers, stay connected through the SCoRE newsletter, and grow into active creators of knowledge.

CC Grads Helping CC Grads

Holly Moynahan ’15 (Environmental Science) is a corporate sustainability consultant based in Boston. As she entered the work world, she was struck by how prepared she was, thanks to her CC education.

Holly thought about how to get more CC alums at her company, and into her field, more broadly. And like any good CC grad, she didn’t just think – she acted.

Here are some excerpts of what she shared with me:

“My colleagues and I decided to hire a CC grad to be our next intern! Out of all our impressive applicants, we chose Jamie Daudon ’16. He will be joining our team as a sustainability consulting intern . I thought I might reach out and share that with you, since I know it is important to spread the CC network and show that we’re capable and talented candidates for a variety of roles. We will be hiring a new teammate sometime in the next few months as well, so he will also be encouraged to apply.”

Holly is thriving too, heading off to her company’s Zurich office. Her words of wisdom for recent grads?  “Transitioning from undergrad to the real world was challenging, but I’m glad I had CC’s block plan to teach me how to be adaptable, clever, efficient, and a quick learner. You have to be to survive the block plan!”

Picnicking in Paris: Students Explore 19th-Century French Culture

Students in Professors Tip Ragan (History) and Gale Murray’s (Art and Art History) summer block wrapped up their exploration of the City of Lights with a discussion of the novel, Against Nature, followed by a Parisian picnic.

The course immersed students in French art and culture. The numerous opportunities for blocks abroad, like this regular course offering in Paris, are part of what makes a CC education so special.